Development of asthma, allergic rhinitis and atopic dermatitis by the age of five years. A prospective study of 543 newborns.

543 children were followed up from birth to 5 years of age. Children with a positive history of parents' atopy had a 51% occurrence of respiratory or dermal symptoms of atopy vs. a 19% occurrence among children with no family history of atopy. There was an association between asthma and allergic rhinitis while atopic dermatitis occurred equally in children with or without respiratory symptoms. The clinical course of atopic symptoms could not be correlated to the family history of atopy. The significance of date of birth, nasal eosinophilia and serum IgE levels seemed to be relatively low in atopic dermatitis while these parameters had a correlation to the development of respiratory atopies.