Abstract
Background: The rising prevalence of allergies can substantially impact the skin, which is one of the largest targets for allergic and immunologic responses. Objective: Here, we describe the results of an online survey assessing self-reported allergy prevalence in Americans, outline the populations who report allergies, and characterize the skin conditions associated with allergy. Methods: An online survey was conducted in the USA of 2,008 adults as a representative sample of the general American population. Results: 41.7% of American adults (mean age 44.7 ± 15.3 years old) reported having allergies. Reported allergies included respiratory allergies (45.2%), skin allergies (41.4) and food allergies (33.9%). 47.7% of those who reported allergies also reported experiencing associated skin reactions. In addition, those who reported allergies were 2 to 4.5 times more likely to report a cutaneous skin disease, 7 times more likely to report sensitive skin, and twice as likely to report experiencing skin reactions when using skincare products compared to those who did not report allergies. Conclusions: It is estimated that over 100 million American adults have allergies. These results will help raise awareness about the burden of allergies and the need to develop solutions to mitigate their impact on health.
Original language | English (US) |
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Article number | 3360 |
Journal | International journal of environmental research and public health |
Volume | 17 |
Issue number | 10 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - May 2 2020 |
Funding
Funding: This work was supported by La Roche‐Posay Dermatological Laboratories, France. This work was supported by La Roche-Posay Dermatological Laboratories, France. The authors acknowledge the great technical support of G. Le Dantec and M. Fortuné.
Keywords
- Allergies
- Food allergy
- Prevalence
- Respiratory allergy
- Skin allergy
- Skin side effects
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health
- Pollution
- Health, Toxicology and Mutagenesis