Clinical features of atopic dermatitis(AD) have been well described according to age in the English literature. In Korea there have been some reports about clinical analyses of AD. However, there is no report about the clinical characteristics of adult AD.

We tried to characterize the clinical features of adult AD by comparing them with the childhood/infantile type. In addition we aimed to study the prognostic factors that may be related to the persistence of dermatitis into adult life.

Patients with AD were divided into the adult and childhood/infantile types according to the patient's age. Sixty three adult patients were compared with 107 childhood/infantile patients. Various clinical characteristics of AD were compared between these groups.

Orbital darkening, foot eczema, and extensor involvement were more frequently observed in the childhood/infantile type, whereas flexural lichenification, especially in the antecubital fossa, prurigo papules in the extensor part of the extremities, cheilitis, forehead lichenification, Hertoghe's sign, nipple eczema, and anterior neck fold involvement were more frequent in the adult type. Light sensitivity was more prominent in the adult type. Later age at onset of AD was observed in adult patients. The incidence of respiratory atopy (asthma and allergic rhinitis) was higher in the adult group.

In the adult type flexural involvement with lichenification became more prominent and prurigo papules were more frequently observed in the extensor part of the extremities. Later onset of AD and association with respiratory atopy were considered to be bad prognostic factors.