Publication:

Prevalence of atopic dermatitis in children in the city of Goma (Democratic Republic of Congo)

Background Currently, atopic dermatitis is one of the most common chronic inflammatory dermatoses. However, studies concerning its prevalence in children are rare in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Thus, we proposed to determine the prevalence and sociodemographic factors associated with atopic dermatitis in children.

Methods We conducted a descriptive cross-sectional study over a 6-month period from June 1 to December 31, 2022. It focused on children aged 0 to 18 years who were brought to the dermatology services of the North Kivu Provincial Hospital (HPNK) for atopic dermatitis. Data were entered and analyzed using SPSS 20 and Epi info 3.5.3 software.

Results The hospital prevalence of atopic dermatitis in children aged 0-18 years was 12.4%. The 0 to 4 age group was the most affected with 54.4%. Males were the most represented (56.7%). The sex ratio M/F was 1.3. The majority of our patients were from the urban area (72.8%). Atopy (personal or familial) was found in 68.9% of patients and was dominated by asthma (23.9%) and allergic rhinitis (21.1%). The most common trigger was food (30.7%) followed by cosmetics (20.5%). Mean age of symptom onset was 7±2 months. The most represented clinical form was the common or vulgar form with 69.4% of cases. Atopic dermatitis was associated with sleep disorder in 77.8% of cases.

Conclusions The data presented in our study are also consistent with the literature which states that the prevalence of atopic dermatitis in children ranged from 10 to 20% and was higher in children under 5 years of age living in urban areas.