TOPLINE:

In a UK study of 9281 participants followed from childhood into early adulthood, atopic dermatitis (AD), including more active and severe AD, was not consistently associated with cardiometabolic risk scores, traditional cardiovascular risk factors (blood pressure, lipid profiles), or measures of subclinical atherosclerosis.

METHODOLOGY:

• Researchers conducted a longitudinal cohort study using data from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children and analyzed 9281 individuals (49.69% female; 95.74% White) with AD and with at least one cardiovascular disease risk factor at one or more timepoints.
• Active AD was defined as at least two parent- or self-reports of itchy, dry skin rash in the joints and creases of the body in the past year; AD activity and severity were assessed repeatedly from 6 months to 18 years of age.
• The primary outcome was cardiometabolic risk scores calculated at ages 15 and 17 years. Markers of cardiovascular risk, BMI, blood pressure, and lipid profiles, were measured up to 12 times between ages 3 and 24 years; subclinical atherosclerosis markers (carotid artery intima media thickness and pulse wave velocity) were assessed at ages 17 and 24 years.
• The prevalence of active AD ranged from 13% to 22% across ages 3-18 years, and moderate or severe disease was reported in 3.5%-6.9% at each age.

TAKEAWAY:

• AD was not associated with cardiometabolic risk scores at ages 15 or 17.
• Similarly, no consistent associations were observed between AD and cardiovascular risk factors; only two associations between AD and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels were statistically significant, but they differed in direction at ages 3 (mean difference, -0.33; P < .05) and 10 (mean difference, 0.14; P < .05).
• No consistent associations were observed between AD (by activity or severity) and individual cardiovascular risk factors at 17 and 24 years; only isolated associations were noted for high-density lipoprotein cholesterol and diastolic blood pressure in specific AD trajectory groups.
• AD disease trajectory phenotypes were not consistently associated with subclinical atherosclerosis measures at ages 17 and 24 years; however, a small increase in pulse wave velocity was found in the moderate-declining group at age 17 (mean difference, 0.11).

IN PRACTICE:

This study of children and adolescents who had predominantly mild AD “found no evidence for increased early cardiovascular risk in this population,” the authors concluded. These findings, they added, “suggest that widespread screening of children and adolescents with AD for early markers of cardiovascular risk is unlikely to improve the identification of individuals in need of early intervention.”

SOURCE:

The study was led by Morgan Ye, MPH, Department of Dermatology, University of California, San Francisco, and was published online on March 24 in JAMA Network Open.

LIMITATIONS:

The study was limited by attrition over time, a lack of detailed skin measures, and predominantly White participants.

DISCLOSURES:

This research was supported by an award from the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases to Katrina Abuabara. Three authors reported receiving grants or personal fees from various sources including the University of California, San Francisco, Clinical and Translational Science Institute, Wellcome Trust, Amgen, Apogee, Astria, Incyte Derm, Medidata, Nektar Therapeutics, Sanofi, Pfizer, and others. Full disclosures are noted in the original article.

This article was created using several editorial tools, including AI, as part of the process. Human editors reviewed this content before publication.