Prevalence of Allergic Diseases across All Ages in Japan: A Nationwide Cross-Sectional Study Employing Designated Allergic Disease Medical Hospital Network

Yasunori Ito; Taisuke Kato; Koichi Yoshida; Kyohei Takahashi; Yuma Fukutomi; Mizuho Nagao; Tatsuki Fukuie; Hiroshi Matsuzaki; Minoru Gotoh; Akio Tanaka; Satoshi Konno; Junichiro Tezuka; Yosikazu Nakamura; Yuichi Adachi

doi:10.31662/jmaj.2022-0218

Prevalence of Allergic Diseases across All Ages in Japan: A Nationwide Cross-Sectional Study Employing Designated Allergic Disease Medical Hospital Network

JMA J. 2023 Apr 14;6(2):165-174. doi: 10.31662/jmaj.2022-0218. Epub 2023 Mar 24.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Pediatric Allergy Center, Nagano Children's Hospital, Nagano, Japan.
² Department of Pediatrics, University of Toyama, Toyama, Japan.
³ Department of Allergy, Tokyo Metropolitan Children's Medical Center, Tokyo, Japan.
⁴ Department of Pediatrics, National Hospital Organization Sagamihara National Hospital, Kanagawa, Japan.
⁵ Clinical Research Center for Allergy and Rheumatology, National Hospital Organization Sagamihara National Hospital, Kanagawa, Japan.
⁶ Institute for Clinical Research, National Hospital Organization Mie National Hospital, Mie, Japan.
⁷ Allergy Center, National Center for Child Health and Development, Tokyo, Japan.
⁸ Department of Pediatrics, National Hospital Organization Fukuoka National Hospital, Fukuoka, Japan.
⁹ Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Nippon Medical School, Tokyo, Japan.
¹⁰ Department of Dermatology, Graduate School of Biomedical and Health Sciences Hiroshima University, Hiroshima, Japan.
¹¹ Department of Respiratory Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Hokkaido University, Hokkaido, Japan.
¹² Department of Allergy and Pulmonology, Fukuoka Children's Hospital, Fukuoka, Japan.
¹³ Division of Public Health, Center for Community Medicine, Jichi Medical University, Tochigi, Japan.

Abstract

Introduction: Allergic diseases affect both children and adults, but generation-specific prevalence rates are unclear.

Methods: An online questionnaire was used from December 2021 to January 2022 to survey the prevalence of allergic diseases among staff and their families of designated allergic disease medical hospitals in Japan. In this study, bronchial asthma (BA), atopic dermatitis (AD), food allergies (FAs), allergic rhinitis (AR), allergic conjunctivitis (AC), metal allergies (MAs), and drug allergies (DAs) were the allergic diseases surveyed.

Results: In total, 18,706 individuals were surveyed (median age, 36 years; quartile range, 18-50). Allergic disease was reported in 62.2% of respondents. Across all ages, prevalence rates were as follows: BA (14.7%), AD (15.6%), FAs (15.2%), AR (47.4%), AC (19.5%), MAs (1.9%), and DAs (4.6%). The prevalence of BA and AR was higher in male children, whereas that of FAs and AC was higher in adult females. The prevalence of MAs and DAs peaked during adulthood and predominated among females.

Conclusions: Our results suggest that approximately two-thirds of the Japanese population may have an allergic disease, with AR being the most prevalent.

Keywords: allergic disease medical hospital; allergy; national cross-sectional study; prevalence.