Allergic conditions: primary care data

The tables in the Excel sheet Allergic conditions (PTI) (67 Kb) show data from the ISD's Practice Team Information (PTI) programme for the financial years 2004/05 to 2012/13. The tables show numbers of patients and consultations for a range of allergic conditions, together with confidence intervals, which reflect the degree of statistical uncertainty in the figures (due to year to year variation and in some cases small numbers). These figures provide national estimates based on records of consultations with members of the primary care team in a representative sample of Scottish practices.

The collection of PTI data has now been discontinued, but the Scottish Primary Care Information Resource (SPIRE) - a collaboration between the Scottish Government and NHS National Services Scotland - will provide GP consultation data, and is expected in due course.

The most common allergic conditions were asthma, eczema and nasal allergy (allergic rhinitis). There was a modest increase in consultations for eczema during the most recent three years for which data are available.  

These figures may underestimate the true prevalence because they include only those people who have consulted for the specific problem during the time period under consideration, and do not include those who manage their own condition or whose care is provided only in a hospital setting.