Prevalence of atopic diseases
Many studies have been reported on the natural course of CMPA, risk
factors for CMPA, recovery rates and on predictive factors of persisting
CMPA. To our knowledge, there are no prior longitudinal studies spanning
decades on the natural history of atopic diseases in children diagnosed
with CMPA during the first year of life. Compared to the group of
randomly selected children, children with CMPA had significantly
(p<0.05) higher prevalence of asthma and rhinoconjunctivitis
at 15 years of age. At 26 years of age, children with CMPA had
significantly (p<0.05) higher current prevalence of astma and
atopic dermatitis.
The concept of an atopic march, which explains the apparent progression
of allergic diseases from AD to AA and to RC, is supported by the
findings in both groups.
The atopic march hypothesizes that manifestation of allergic diseases
begins in early childhood with the development of AD, then AA,
progressing finally to RC (5). The 26 year follow-up in this study
suggests, that allergic diseases such as AD and AA persist until
adulthood in children diagnosed with CMPA during their first year of
life.