Atopic Dermatitis in Tunisia

Abstract

Our aim was to investigate the epidemiology and clinical features of atopic dermatitis in Tunisia. To reach this object, a retrospective multicentre study was carried out at the 7 Tunisian departments of dermatology covering a period of 5 years. We observed 1,032 cases of atopic dermatitis during the studied period. These cases represent 0.52% of all new diagnoses in the same period. The mean age at onset was 3.5 years. Atopic dermatitis began after the age of 5 years in 14.05% of patients and was assessed to be severe in 5% of cases. Atopic dermatitis seems to be less frequent in Tunisia than in western countries. Its age at onset is higher, and this may be correlated with the less severe forms of the disease seen.