Abstract
Despite extensive investigation of genes related to atopic dermatitis, the etiology of the disease has not been clarified. The results of epidemiological studies of atopic dermatitis suggest that it should be viewed as a multidimensional phenomenon and that various pathogenetic hypotheses should be evaluated. In this article, several noteworthy topics in the pathogenesis of atopic dermatitis are reviewed, namely, international epidemiological studies, migration studies, and family size or socioeconomic research. The so-called “old mother hypothesis” and the fetal programming theory are also discussed.
