Evaluation of a self-administered questionnaire on atopic diseases: Discrepancy between self-reported symptoms and objective signs

Background: Atopic diseases are considered multifactorial andthe cause seems to be an interaction between genetic and environmentalfactors. The present study was undertaken to evaluate the validityof questionnaires compared with clinical diagnoses. Methods:A self-administered questionnaire about atopic diseases andsociodemographic characteristics was completed by 551 out of575 school children aged 7–12 years and clinical and immunologicalexaminations were attended by 424. Results: The sensitivitywas low and the specificity high for all atopic manifestations.Conclusion: Atopic dermatitis was underestimated and allergicrhinoconjunctivttis overestimated, whereas asthma did not differ.Symptom-based questionnaire studies seem to be useful epidemiologicaltools for obtaining rough estimates of the frequency of atopicdiseases.