School of Health and Related Research, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK.
Br J Dermatol. 2011 Jun;164(6):1329-34. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2133.2011.10264.x. Epub 2011 May 17.
Scabies is a contagious parasitic infestation which causes an allergic reaction to just a few mites.
To examine the epidemiology of scabies consultations in the U.K. by age, sex, region of the country and time.
Data were obtained from the THIN (The Health Information Network) database provided by EPIC U.K. in which each consultation episode is coded according to a 'READ' code. Data were available for 1997-2005 inclusive (9 years) for approximately 8·5% of the U.K. population from 12 regions of the U.K. We used harmonic analysis to model the data over time and derived cycle amplitudes and phases for each region in the U.K.
There was a significantly greater infestation rate among females with a relative risk of 1·24 (P < 0·001) relative to males. The age group 10-19 years had the highest infestation rates (with rates of 4·55 per 1000 and 5·92 per 1000 for males and females, respectively). The middle age groups had the smallest infestation rates. A cycle with length of between 15 and 17 years was derived, and the phase times of the cycles for each region suggested a progression of the disease originating from the North East, spreading to Northern parts of the U.K. and then to the Midlands and the South.
The study confirms earlier studies with regard to the age/sex distribution of scabies. We suggest a contagious pattern of spread of scabies infestation in the U.K. with an epidemic cycle length of 15-17 years.
疥疮是一种传染性寄生虫感染，仅对少数螨虫产生过敏反应。
通过年龄、性别、国家地区和时间检查英国疥疮咨询的流行病学。
数据来自 EPIC UK 提供的 THIN（健康信息网络）数据库，其中每个咨询案例都根据“READ”代码进行编码。数据可用于 1997-2005 年（9 年），涵盖英国 12 个地区的约 8.5%的人口。我们使用谐波分析来模拟随时间变化的数据，并为英国每个地区得出周期幅度和相位。
女性的感染率明显更高，相对风险为 1.24（P < 0.001），相对于男性。年龄组 10-19 岁的感染率最高（男性和女性的感染率分别为每 1000 人 4.55 和 5.92）。中年组的感染率最低。得出一个长度在 15 到 17 年之间的周期，每个地区的周期相位时间表明疾病起源于东北地区，传播到英国北部，然后传播到中部和南部。
该研究证实了先前关于疥疮年龄/性别分布的研究。我们建议在英国，疥疮感染具有传染性传播模式，流行周期长度为 15-17 年。
