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TOPLINE
Patients with congenital ichthyosis have higher rates of allergic rhinitis, food allergy, and allergic asthma than those in the general population, with more than two thirds reporting at least one atopic condition.
METHODOLOGY
- Researchers surveyed 115 children or adults with physician-confirmed congenital ichthyosis in the US between 2024 and 2025 or their caregivers.
- Patients had various subtypes of the skin disorder, including lamellar ichthyosis, congenital ichthyosiform erythroderma, and X-linked ichthyosis; data from eight patients with Netherton syndrome were analyzed separately because of the known risk for atopy with that condition.
- The researchers compared the rate of allergic conditions in this population with those in age-matched individuals in the general population, using data from the 2021 National Health Interview Survey.
TAKEAWAY
- Overall, 68.2% of patients with congenital ichthyosis (excluding Netherton syndrome) had at least one allergic condition compared with 27.2%-31.8% of age-matched individuals in the general population.
- The rates of allergic conditions were highest among patients with the most erythrodermic subtypes, such as ichthyosis with confetti and harlequin ichthyosis.
- Among patients with Netherton syndrome, all had food allergies and a history of anaphylaxis, 75% had allergic rhinitis, and 38% had allergic asthma.
IN PRACTICE
“As part of a holistic approach to management, practitioners should inquire about atopic disorders as potential comorbidities of ichthyosis/[epidermal differentiation disorders] to facilitate diagnosis,” the authors of the study wrote.
SOURCE
Amy S. Paller, MD, with the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago, was the corresponding author of the study, which was published online on August 6 in The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology.
LIMITATIONS
The study was limited by potential recall bias, a lack of measurements of disease severity, and small sample sizes.
DISCLOSURES
The study did not receive any funding. Paller reported serving as an investigator, consultant, and data safety monitoring board member for pharmaceutical companies.
This article was created using several editorial tools, including AI, as part of the process. Human editors reviewed this content before publication.
