TOPLINE:

Patients with childhood-onset asthma had increased odds of atopic dermatitis, although there was no correlation between the severities of the two conditions. Involvement of certain body areas and atopic dermatitis flares during asthma exacerbations were associated with higher severity of atopic dermatitis.

METHODOLOGY:

• Researchers in Denmark described the clinical features and severity of atopic dermatitis in adults aged 18-45 years with asthma recorded between 2000 and 2019. Patients were surveyed in 2024, and 4126 responded (mean age, 37.1 years; 70.3% female).
• Severity of asthma was graded using treatment steps in the Global Initiative for Asthma 2024 guidelines, with steps 1-2 corresponding to mild, step 3 to moderate, step 4 to moderate-to-severe, and step 5 to severe asthma.
• The severity of atopic dermatitis and affected sites were assessed using the Patient-Oriented SCORing Atopic Dermatitis scale, with scores less than 25 indicating mild disease, 25-50 moderate disease, and over 50 severe disease.

TAKEAWAY:

• Overall, 5.2% of patients with asthma had atopic dermatitis. Childhood-onset asthma was associated with increased odds of atopic dermatitis (adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 3.68; 95% CI, 2.40-5.91).
• Severity of asthma was not correlated with severity of atopic dermatitis. However, patients without atopic dermatitis were more likely to report daily asthma symptoms than those with atopic dermatitis (aOR, 1.56; 95% CI, 1.03-2.42).
• Higher severity of atopic dermatitis was linked to the involvement of the head-and-neck region (beta-coefficient, 5.94) and hands (beta-coefficient, 8.37).
• Flares of atopic dermatitis during asthma exacerbations, reported by 33.0% of patients, were associated with increased severity of atopic dermatitis. 

IN PRACTICE:

“[The] findings underscore the need for clinical vigilance in identifying persistent or recurrent disease and highlight the importance of improved recognition of asthma patients with mild-to-moderate AD [atopic dermatitis] to ensure adequate referral, as site-specific involvement may indicate more severe AD,” the authors of the study wrote.

SOURCE:

Jacob P. Thyssen, MD, PhD, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark, was the corresponding author of this study, which was published online on June 11 in Frontiers in Allergy.

LIMITATIONS:

The study had a low response rate (15%), which may have introduced selection bias and reduced generalizability. Atopic dermatitis was identified only from hospital records, which may have missed patients treated outside hospitals. Severity and other measures were self-reported and may have been inaccurate.

DISCLOSURES:

The study received support from the Kgl. Hofbuntmager Aage Bang Foundation. Several authors reported receiving research funding, consulting or advisory fees, honoraria, speaker, and data safety monitoring board payments from multiple sources including the funding foundation. Two authors reported being employees of a pharmaceutical company.

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