26 Jun Why Does Some Eczema Persist Into Adulthood?

MedicalResearch.com Interview with:

Dr. Abuabara

Dr. Katrina Abuabara MD, MA, MSCE
University of California San Francisco

MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?

Response: Atopic dermatitis (synonymous with atopic eczema or just “eczema”) is a common and burdensome condition that often presents in childhood but can occur in individuals of any age. It is episodic, meaning that it waxes and wanes over time, and many patients will have periods without signs or symptoms of the disease. Conventional wisdom suggests that “most children” improve by adolescence, but prior studies have not had sufficiently frequent follow-up to detect episodic disease beyond childhood.

MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings?

Response: We take advantage of a unique cohort that includes measures of disease control and treatment use at 6-month intervals for a large diverse population of US patients ages 2-26 years.

We find evidence for two distinct subgroups; one termed ‘resolving’ that exhibits an increasing likelihood of periods of complete disease control without treatment with age, and one termed ‘persistently active’ that is likely to have periods of incomplete disease control at all ages. Female sex, lower income, non-white race, atopic history and earlier age of onset were highly predictive of persistently active disease into early adulthood.

MedicalResearch.com: What should readers take away from your report?

Response: There are distinct patterns of atopic dermatitis disease activity, and basic patient characteristics including sex, race, and income were just as predictive of disease course as was family history. There was no difference in the proportion of individuals with filaggrin mutations in each group.

MedicalResearch.com: What recommendations do you have for future research as a result of this study?

Response: Because our study followed individuals with existing atopic dermatitis, we were unable to examine associations with disease onset in addition to disease course; future research should examine both disease onset and disease course and seek to identify the mechanisms driving these associations.

MedicalResearch.com: Thank you for your contribution to the MedicalResearch.com community.

Citation:

Patterns and predictors of atopic dermatitis disease control past childhood

Katrina Abuabara, MD MA; Ole Hoffstad, MS; Andrea B. Troxel ScD; Joel M. Gelfand MD MSCE Charles E. McCulloch, PhD⁵;
David J. Margolis MD PhD Abuabara, Katrina et al.

Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology June 16, 2017
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jaci.2017.05.031

Note: Content is Not intended as medical advice. Please consult your health care provider regarding your specific medical condition and questions.

Last Updated on June 26, 2017 by Marie Benz MD FAAD