Changes in atopy over 25 years: Atopy now affects wider age range

EDITOR-In the previous letter responding to the paper by Law et al on changes in atopy over time Linneberg asks whether the allergic epidemic has spread to old age. 1 We recently tried to answer a similar question by retrospectively reviewing our patients' records, the results having been presented as an abstract at the last annual meeting of the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma, Immunology. 2 In the past five years 956 patients (306 male and 650 female) aged 60 and older (median 76, range 60-93) were referred to our allergy clinic for suspected atopic conditions.