Adults with Atopic Dermatitis: Prevalence, Comorbidity, and Demographic Data

An abstract presentation at the Revolutionizing Atopic Dermatitis (RAD) Conference, held April 9 to 11, in Baltimore, Maryland, discussed the prevalence of atopic dermatitis (AD) in adults.

The abstract, “Atopic Dermatitis in Adults: Experience of a Tertiary Care Center”, included 1,815 participants with AD. Demographic data included participants from 18 to 80 years old, with the biggest age group being 21-30 (608, 33.5%). The study was primarily filled with female patients (1,239; 68.3% female vs 573; 31.6 male).

Self-identified race data showed:

• White: 748 (43%)
• Black: 648 (37%)
• Asian: 229 (13.1)
• Native American: 7 (.4%)
• Other: 106 (6.1)

Additionally, 99 (5.5%) people reported Hispanic ethnicity.

The study reported that the distribution of AD in adults included:

• Scalp: 11.9%
• Eyelid: 15.3%
• Perioral/Facial: 42.8%
• Neck: 33.8%
• Nipple: 2.8%
• Torso/Trunk: 53.7%
• Hand: 44.4%
• Flexural: 60.1%
• Limbs/Extensors: 61%

Of the AD distributions, limbs/extensors (61%) and flexural (60.1%) were the most commonly reported disease areas.

The presentation highlighted the frequency of AD and non-AD comorbidities.

The most common AD-specific comorbidities observed in the study were hay fever (47.5%) and allergic rhinitis (46.5%). The study also showed that the most common non-AD comorbidities were anxiety and depression.

The presentation concluded that the abstract did have limitations including that it only included a single center, and that there is a relative risk of disease misclassification as only 12% of participants underwent biopsy to confirm disease. Additionally, the presentation highlighted the need for future studies to fully characterize the clinical presentation of AD in adults.

Reference:

Foy VM, Munayco Maldonado G, Chiesa Fuxench ZC. Atopic dermatitis in adults: experience of a tertiary care center. Presented at: Revolutionizing Atopic Dermatitis (RAD); April 9-11, 2022; Baltimore, MD.