Incidence of hay fever in the adult Danish population
Pedersen, P.A.; Kamper-Jørgensen, F.; Weeke, E.R.
Ugeskrift for Laeger 142(49): 3269-3272
1980
ISSN/ISBN: 0041-5782 PMID: 7445246 Document Number: 162896
By interview investigations of representative random samples of the adult Danish population (16 yr and over) in 1978 and 1979, the following occurrence of hay fever was encountered: incidence 0.8-0.9%, period prevalence (last year) 7.4%, cumulative prevalence 9.4%. In the 1-yr period prevalence, slight but significantly greater prevalence in women than in men was found. These findings are in accordance with findings in other population investigations. Of the population 3.2% (130,000 adults) sought medical advice within the past year for hay fever. A total of 2.6% contacted their general practitioners and 1.2% sought specialist advice. Approximately 1/4 of the patients with hay fever stated that they had been investigated by means of skin tests and 15% had been desensitized. A family history of allergy was present in over half of the patients.