Abstract: Objective To investigate the prevalence of and predisposing factors of atopic dermatitis (AD) in 0~6 year-old children in rural and urban area of Tianjin. Methods The subjects were chosen by cluster sampling from kindergartens in Tianjin's urban and rural districts. Questionnaires were designed based on the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Children (ISAAC) and distributed to the children's parents via the teachers. Results In this survey, 3749 questionaires were returned, of which 3 708 were valid. The response rate was 82.7% in total, 79.3% in the rural area, and 84.9% in the urban area. The age and gender distributions were similar in the urban and rural area. The prevalence rate of AD in these children was 2.9% in total, and it was higher in the urban area than in the rural area (3.5% vs 2.4%, X²=3.98, P<0.05). The prevalence of AD was not associated with the history of immunization or family income, while a history of allergic diseases appeared to be a contributing factor for AD. Conclusions The overall prevalence of AD in children in Tianjin is 2.9%, with a prevalence of 3.5% in the urban area, and 2.4% in the rural area.

Key words: Dermatitis, atopic, Prevalence