Table 1. Demographic data on the patients with chronic idiopathic urticaria.
| Characteristics | N = 641 |
| Sex, M/F, no. | 234/407 |
| Age at onset, mean (SD), yr | 40.54 (15.11) |
| BMI, mean (SD), kg/m2 | 23.52 (3.31) |
| Duration of urticaria at enrollment, mean (SD), yr | 3.76 (6.88) |
| Presence of angioedema, no. (%) | |
| Urticaria alone | 433 (67.6) |
| Urticaria with angioedema | 190 (29.6) |
| Angioedema alone | 18 (2.8) |
| Personal history of atopy, no. (%) | 150/638 (23.5) |
| Allergic rhinitis | 99 (15.5) |
| Asthma | 27 (4.2) |
| Allergic rhinitis+asthma | 11 (1.7) |
| Atopic dermatitis | 11 (1.7) |
| Concomitant diseases†, no. (%) | |
| Helicobacter pylori infection* | 83 (12.9) |
| Graves’ disease | 5 (0.8) |
| Hashimoto’s thyroiditis | 1 (0.2) |
| Rheumatoid arthritis | 7 (1.1) |
| Systemic lupus erythematosus | 2 (0.3) |
| Urticaria activity score, mean (SD) (N = 106) | 4.02 (1.71) |
†
Subjects were not accompanied by other autoimmune disorders including celiac disease, type I diabetes mellitus, and Sjögren’s syndrome.
*
Helicobacter pylori infection was detected by biopsy urease test including CLO (Campylobacter-Like Organism) test, histology, serologic test to detect H.pylori IgG, or urea breath test. A total of 131(20.4%) CIU patients underwent diagnostic testing for H. pylori.
Abbreviations: BMI, body mass index.