Allergic Diseases In Adolescents

Abstract

Introduction The possibility of "out-growing" atopic disorders, especially asthma, at puberty is of great importance to the patient, his family, and the physician. There is widespread clinical agreement that some allergic manifestations which begin in childhood occasionally disappear in adolescence. How often this occurs is unknown. Certain difficulties have impeded past attempts to obtain valid information concerning allergic manifestations. The prevalence of major atopic diseases among children remains unknown, although they are estimated to occur in 7%-24% of all children in the United States.^1-4 Ten per cent is the figure frequently quoted.¹ Data on the prevalence and progression of asthma, as well as other atopic disorders, in adolescent subjects are lacking. Before determining the course of atopic disorders in adolescence it was necessary to establish their prevalence and nature in an adolescent population. This study was a prevalence survey of major allergic diseases—asthma, hay fever, perennial allergic rhinitis,