TOPLINE:

According to a survey, atopic dermatitis (AD) since childhood was associated with more persistent skin sensitivity and a greater long-term psychosocial burden than the disease starting during adolescence.

METHODOLOGY:

• Researchers conducted a survey including 7610 adult patients with AD from 27 countries across five continents between June and September 2024.
• Patients in the study reported physician-diagnosed AD either during childhood (n = 3286) or during adolescence (n = 4324) who no longer had active disease, and they were selected from representative samples of the general population as part of the Scars of Life project.
• Data collection focused on allergic comorbidities and current skin symptoms in adults with previously resolved AD. The impact on life trajectory was assessed using the Dermatology Long-Term Life Impact Measure-Scar of Life questionnaire, an 11-item instrument with 5-point Likert scale responses ranging from "not at all" to "extremely."
• Positive responses were defined as any answer other than "not at all," and percentages were calculated to compare outcomes between childhood-onset and adolescent-onset AD groups.

TAKEAWAY:

• Patients with childhood-onset AD reported higher rates of persistent skin discomfort than those with adolescent-onset AD, which included burning sensation (18.7% vs 16.3%) and pain (17.1% vs 13.0%); however, those in the adolescent-onset AD group experienced more frequent itching during adulthood.
• Childhood-onset AD was associated with a greater educational and professional impact, with a higher proportion of patients in this group believing that the disease limited their choice of studies (28.0% vs 23.9%) and the duration of studies (29.6% vs 24.0%) than those in the adolescent-onset AD group.
• Career and work environment were more affected in the childhood-onset vs adolescent-onset AD group, including a greater hindrance in career (30.0% vs 23.9%) and a greater need to adapt to their living or working environment (32.4% vs 28.1%).
• The larger impact was seen in personal and social life of those in the childhood-onset AD group, including restrictions in personal life (31.9% vs 28.1%), negative effects on family life (28.6% vs 23.0%), concerns about becoming a parent (26.5% vs 20.2%), effects on romantic or sexual life (30.3% vs 24.4%), and negative impacts on self-image and confidence (36.9% vs 32.9%).

IN PRACTICE:

"[The study] results underscore the need for early psychological interventions and targeted dermatological care to mitigate long-term consequences," the authors wrote.

SOURCE:

This study was led by Thomas Luger, University Hospital Münster, Münster, Germany. It was published online on April 21, 2026, in Clinical and Experimental Dermatology.

LIMITATIONS:

The study did not report any limitations.

DISCLOSURES:

This study was funded by La Roche-Posay Laboratoire Dermatologique, France. Four authors reported having employment with and one author reported receiving fees from La Roche-Posay Laboratoire Dermatologique. The rest of the authors reported receiving fees for participation in the scientific committee of the project.

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