Search

Background Children with atopic dermatitis (AD) may have disturbed sleep, affected self-esteem and decreased quality of life, likely interfering with performance in school. Objectives To examine the association between hospital-managed paediatric AD, school performance and cognitive function. Methods In this cross-sectional study we linked data from the Danish national registers and identified three populations between 2001 and 2019. Population 1 comprised children with graduation grades registered from lower secondary school, population 2 comprised adolescents with registration of an upper secondary graduation mean, and population 3 comprised male conscripts with registration of an IQ test score. AD was defined as a hospital diagnostic code (inpatient or outpatient) prior to the exam or conscription date, and was stratified according to severity, activity and atopic comorbidity. Outcomes included graduation mean from lower and upper secondary school, special educational assistance in primary and lower secondary school, and IQ at conscription. Results In total, 770 611 (12 137 with AD), 394 193 (6261 with AD) and 366 182 (4539 with AD) children and adolescents were included in populations 1 (lower secondary graduation), 2 (upper secondary graduation) and 3 (conscription), respectively. In lower secondary school, children with severe AD had significantly lower overall, written and oral graduation grade means compared with children with mild AD: respectively, difference −0.29 [95% confidence interval (CI) −0.45 to −0.13, P < 0.001], difference −0.26 (95% CI −0.42 to −0.10, P = 0.0016) and difference −0.30 (95% CI −0.49 to −0.11, P = 0.0018). In upper secondary school, adolescents with AD performed similarly to their peers without AD. Young men with AD scored significantly lower IQ test means at conscription examination than male conscripts without AD: difference −0.60 (95% CI −0.87 to −0.32, P < 0.001). Conclusions AD, in particular when severe, is associated with lower school performance in childhood and IQ in young men, which can interfere with academic achievements in life. Optimization of treatment of children with AD and specific educational support to children with severe AD could be needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Parents of children with atopic dermatitis (AD) report reduced quality of life and higher stress level, which could increase risk of psychiatric and pain disorders, and medication use. Methods: By use of Danish national registries, we identified family members of all first‐born Danish children born between 1 January 1995 and 31 December 2013 with a hospital diagnosis of AD, matched them 1:10 with family members of children without AD, and followed the cohorts over time. Results: Mothers of children with hospital‐managed AD had higher risk of filling a prescription for medications for depression, anxiety, pain and sleep problems, and of consulting a psychologist, but most associations disappeared after full adjustment. Siblings had higher risk of receiving a diagnosis for adjustment disorder, and fathers showed increased risk of filling a prescription for pain medication and of divorce, in crude but not adjusted models. Conclusions: The increased risk of study endpoints seen in mothers of children with hospital‐managed AD was not explained by pediatric AD alone. Rather, the total burden in these families including parent and child morbidity and socioeconomic resources seems to explain these observations. The burden in families of children with AD may potentially affect the overall management of their child's AD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

OBJECTIVE Topical corticosteroids (CSs) are commonly used to treat inflammatory skin conditions including eczema and psoriasis. Although topical CS package inserts describe hyperglycemia and glycosuria as adverse drug reactions, it is unclear whether topical CS use in real life is also associated with an increased risk of type 2 diabetes (T2D). RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS Two matched case-control studies and one cohort study were conducted using routinely collected health care data from Denmark and the U.K. A total of 115,218 and 54,944 adults were identified as case subjects with new-onset T2D in the Danish and U.K. case-control study, respectively. For the Danish cohort study, 2,689,473 adults were included. The main exposure was topical CSs, and the outcome was incident T2D. RESULTS Topical CS was significantly associated with T2D in the Danish (adjusted odds ratio [OR] 1.25 [95% CI 1.23–1.28]) and U.K. (adjusted OR 1.27 [95% CI 1.23–1.31]) case-control studies. Individuals who were exposed to topical CSs had significantly increased risk of incident T2D (adjusted hazard ratio 1.27 [95% CI 1.26–1.29]). We observed significant dose-response relationships between T2D and increasing potency of topical CSs in the two Danish studies. The results were consistent across all sensitivity analyses. CONCLUSIONS We found a positive association between topical CS prescribing and incident T2D in Danish and U.K. adult populations. Clinicians should be cognizant of possible diabetogenic effects of potent topical CSs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Adult atopic dermatitis (AD) is associated with overweight, obesity and cardiovascular diseases (CVD) in Americans, similarly to psoriasis, but no increased risk of CVD has been shown in European patients with AD. This study investigated the prevalence and risk of gallstones in adults with AD and in those with psoriasis as a proxy for obesity using nationwide data for all Danish citizens ≥ 30 years of age. Outcome was a diagnosis of gallstones. Odds ratios (ORs) were calculated by logistic regression (cross-sectional study) and hazard ratios (HRs) were estimated by Cox regression (cohort study). The study comprised 6,742 patients with AD, 53,810 patients with psoriasis, and 3,534,164 general population subjects. The prevalence of gallstones was 3.8%, 3.5% and 5.0% in the general population, AD and psoriasis patients, respectively. Adjusted ORs were 0.81 (0.71-0.92) for AD and 1.18 (1.14-1.23) for psoriasis. During follow-up, adjusted HRs were 0.72 (0.56-0.90) for AD and 1.10 (1.02-1.18) for psoriasis. The findings highlight important differences in obesity and lifestyle factors among patients with AD and those with psoriasis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses research which showed the prevalence of cancer in adult patients with atopic dermatitis (AD), a common chronic inflammatory skin disease. Topics discussed include the potential explanatory factors for altered risk in AD, association between AD and non-melanoma skin cancer (NMSC) and cervical cancer and systemic anti-inflammatory agents associated with an increased risk of NMSC.

Background: Psoriasis is a common inflammatory skin disease associated with several immune-mediated inflammatory diseases (IMIDs); however, little is known of the chronology of disease development., Objective: To investigate the chronology of IMIDs relative to psoriasis., Methods: We utilized routinely collected data from Danish nationwide administrative registries to examine the occurrence of IMIDs in patients with psoriasis (n = 10,923) and general population controls (n = 109,230)., Results: Approximately 20% of patients with psoriasis developed ≥1 IMID, with a 5-fold increased risk compared with the general population. Most IMIDs were diagnosed before psoriasis, except for psoriatic arthritis. Psoriasis was significantly associated with having multiple IMIDs (odds ratio 15.2, 95% confidence interval 11.6-20.0). Human leukocyte antigen B27 positivity was significantly more frequent among psoriasis patients., Limitations: Clinical measurements were unavailable., Conclusion: IMIDs occur frequently in patients with psoriasis and most are diagnosed before psoriasis. The observed chronology might represent important mechanisms of disease development., (Copyright © 2019 American Academy of Dermatology, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: An increased susceptibility to autoimmune disease has been shown in patients with atopic dermatitis (AD), but data remain scarce and inconsistent., Objective: We examined the co-occurrence of selected autoimmune diseases in adult patients with AD., Methods: Nationwide health registers were used. Adult patients with a hospital diagnosis of AD in Denmark between 1997 and 2012 were included as cases (n = 8112) and matched with controls (n = 40,560). The occurrence of autoimmune diseases was compared in the 2 groups. Logistic regression was used to estimate odds ratios., Results: AD was significantly associated with 11 of 22 examined autoimmune diseases. In addition, AD was associated with having multiple autoimmune comorbidities. Patients with a history of smoking had a significantly higher occurrence of autoimmune comorbidities compared to nonsmokers., Limitations: This study was limited to adult patients with AD. No information about AD severity or degree of tobacco consumption was available. Results from a hospital population of AD patients cannot be generalized to the general population., Conclusions: Our results suggest a susceptibility of autoimmune diseases in adult patients with AD, especially in smokers. While we cannot conclude on causality based on these data, an increased awareness of autoimmune comorbidities in patients with AD may be warranted., (Copyright © 2016 American Academy of Dermatology, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: Psoriasis and atopic dermatitis (AD) are chronic inflammatory skin disorders. Mortality is increased in psoriasis, yet no studies on mortality in AD are currently available., Objective: We investigated 10-year mortality after hospitalization for AD compared with psoriasis and the general population., Methods: Between 1996 and 2002 all Danes aged 18 years or older with a first-time hospitalization as a result of AD or psoriasis and AD-matched healthy control subjects were examined in nationwide registers. Multivariable (adjusted for age, sex, socioeconomic status, Charlson Comorbidity Index score, smoking, and medication) hazard ratios were estimated by Cox regression., Results: The study comprised 576 and 951 hospitalized patients with AD and psoriasis, respectively, with a maximum follow-up time of 10 years. During the study period, there were 65 and 286 deaths among patients with AD and psoriasis. Risk of death was decreased in patients with AD versus psoriasis (hazard ratio 0.75; 95% confidence interval 0.57-1.00), but higher than in general population control subjects (n = 5760) (hazard ratio 1.71; 95% confidence interval 1.20-2.44). Patients hospitalized with AD died on average 8.3 years younger than control subjects., Limitations: Lifestyle may have affected the risk., Conclusions: The 10-year mortality was significantly lower after hospitalization for AD compared with psoriasis, but increased when compared with the general population., (Copyright © 2016 American Academy of Dermatology, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Purpose of Review: In this review article, we summarize the current evidence about atopic dermatitis (AD)-associated comorbidities, beyond the traditional atopic and allergic conditions., Recent Findings: Patients with AD may have an increased risk of cardiovascular diseases, certain malignancies, autoimmune diseases, and neuropsychiatric diseases. The causes of these associations are likely multifactorial and may include genetic predispositions, systemic low-grade inflammation, environmental exposures, medication, and lifestyle and behavioral risk factors. There appears to be geographical variations in prevalence of comorbidities in patients with AD, indicating that differences in ethnicity and lifestyle factors may significantly influence the risk of certain comorbidities., Summary: The reported comorbidities in recent literature emphasize the burden of disease in patients with AD. Early appropriate AD therapy, in combination with reduction of risk factors, may help prevention of certain comorbidities. The reported observations may generate hypotheses for future investigations in underlying risk factors for AD-associated comorbidities.