Background: Atopic dermatitis is a frequent chronic dermatosis in children.
Objective: To determine the prevalence of atopic dermatitis in a pediatric population from Morelia, Michoacan.
Participants and methods: An observational, descriptive and comparative study was done to estimate the prevalence and underdiagnosis of atopic dermatitis in children and teenagers from Morelia, Michoacan (n=9578). This study had a sensitivity of 0.87 and a specificity of 0.92.
Results: A prevalence of 10.1% and 5.4% was found in children from 6 to 10 years old and teenagers from 11 to 16 years old. The diagnosis was done in only 20% of all cases. The high underdiagnosis suggests taking emergent actions of preventive medicine.
Conclusions: The prevalence of atopic dermatitis in pediatric population from Morelia is similar of that reported in the United States and less than of Mexico City.