Prevalence of self-reported eczema in relation to living environment, socio-economic status and respiratory symptoms assessed in a questionnaire study

BACKGROUND: Potential links between eczema and obstructive pulmonary diseases have been postulated. Previously we have reported the prevalence of upper and lower respiratory diseases and the relation to environmental and socio-economic factors in a randomly selected adult population in southern Sweden using a postal questionnaire.In the present study we wanted to analyse the prevalence of eczema and its relation to socio-economic status, heredity factors and environmental factors in an adult population. METHODS: Self-reported eczema, upper and lower respiratory symptoms, asthma and Chronic Bronchitis Emphysema (CBE) were examined in 12,071 adults, aged 20-59 years, living in southern Sweden by using a postal questionnaire. There were comparable numbers of males and females in all age groups.Multiple logistic regression analysis (forward conditional) was applied to estimate the association between the proposed risk factors (heredity, self-reported asthma and CBE, nasal symptoms, socio-