COMPARATIVE CLINICAL AND ANAMNESTIC CHARACTERISTICS OF ATOPIC DERMATITIS IN EARLY CHILDHOOD AND ADOLESCENCE: A COMPARATIVE STUDY

Background. Atopic dermatitis (AD) shows age-dependent phenotypes; early-onset disease is more often associated with a longer, persistent course, whereas later onset may be accompanied by less persistence. Objective. To compare the clinical features of AD between young children and adolescents using standardised statistical analysis. Methods. In this comparative study, 80 patients with AD were allocated to two groups: group I, young children (up to 3 years; n = 40), and group II, adolescents (12–17 years; n = 40). Sex, age, age at onset, disease duration, family history of allergy, SCORAD index, lesion distribution, itch intensity (VAS), total IgE, presence of bronchial asthma, allergic rhinitis, food allergy, and exacerbation frequency were assessed. Between-group comparisons used the Student t-test or Mann–Whitney U test for continuous variables and the χ² or Fisher exact test for categorical variables; p < 0.05 was considered significant. Results. Adolescents had higher SCORAD scores (45.9 ± 12.4 vs 38.6 ± 11.2; p = 0.008), higher total serum IgE (468 [260–820] vs 285 [170–520] IU/mL; p = 0.011), and more frequent bronchial asthma (37.5% vs 17.5%; p = 0.044), allergic rhinitis (45.0% vs 22.5%; p = 0.033), and severe disease (42.5% vs 22.5%; p = 0.048). Food allergy was more common in young children (62.5% vs 37.5%; p = 0.025). Family history of allergy did not differ significantly (60.0% vs 55.0%; p = 0.65). Conclusion. Adolescents with atopic dermatitis showed greater disease severity, higher IgE, and more frequent respiratory allergic comorbidity than young children, whereas food allergy was more common in early childhood—consistent with age-dependent phenotypes and the atopic march.