Investigation of the prevalence and treatment of atopic dermatitis in South Korea using a large national dataset

Abstract

Background: Updated reports on the population-based analysis of atopic dermatitis (AD) in Korea are rare. This study aimed to investigate the nationwide prevalence and systemic medication prescription trends of AD in Korea. Methods: Based on the Korean National Health Insurance database, the prevalence of AD and systemic medication prescription trends in patients with AD were analyzed according to age groups and regional districts from 2010 to 2015. Results: The prevalence of AD was the highest among patients aged 0-1 year (18.6%-24.5%), decreasing rapidly with increasing age (<2% in patients aged ≥20 years). From 2010 to 2015, the prevalence of AD decreased in children but increased slightly in adolescents and adults. In 2015, the proportion of systemic steroid prescriptions increased from 11.2% in the 0-9 years age group to 41.1% in the 50-59 years age group, while that of systemic antibiotic prescriptions gradually decreased from 6.2% in the 0-9 years age group to 1.8% in the 80-89 years age group. The proportion of systemic steroid prescriptions by region remained consistently high in Gyeongbuk (34.2%-34.9%) and low in Daejeon (20.2%-22.5%). The annual proportion of systemic cyclosporine prescriptions increased significantly from 0.6% in 2010 to 1.2% in 2015, with the highest rates observed in patients in their 30s (1.5%-2.4%), followed by those in their 20s (1.3%-2.3%) and 40s (1.1%-2.0%). Conclusion: From 2010 to 2015, the prevalence of AD decreased in children but increased slightly in adolescents and adults. Approximately one-fourth of the patients with AD were prescribed systemic steroids, and the percentage of cyclosporine prescriptions doubled during the study period. © 2025, The Korean Academy of Family Medicine. All rights reserved.