Prevalence of asthma in patients with atopic dermatitis: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Document Type

Journal Article

Publication Date

2-1-2021

Journal

Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology

Volume

84

Issue

2

DOI

10.1016/j.jaad.2020.02.055

Keywords

association; asthma; atopic dermatitis; eczema; meta-analysis; prevalence; systematic review

Abstract

Background: It is well established that asthma is common in patients with atopic dermatitis (AD). Objectives: We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis to determine the prevalence of asthma and respiratory symptoms in individuals with AD as well as the association between AD and asthma. Methods: At least 2 authors independently searched the medical databases PubMed, EMBASE, LILACS, and SCOPUS for all English-language studies with data on asthma prevalence among patients with AD or the association between AD and asthma. Pooled odds ratios with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) and pooled proportions were estimated with random-effects models. The Newcastle-Ottawa scale was used to assess study quality. Results: The search yielded 39,503 articles. Of these, 213 studies were included in a quantitative analysis. The overall pooled prevalence of asthma was 25.7% (95% CI, 23.7-27.7) in patients with AD and 8.1% (95% CI, 7.0-9.4) among reference individuals. There was a significant association between AD and asthma when compared with reference individuals (odds ratio, 3.03; 95% CI, 2.64-3.47). Limitations: The definitions of AD and asthma differed across the included studies and varied from self-report to physician diagnosed. Conclusions: Asthma is a common comorbidity of AD. Physicians should be cognizant of this relationship and address asthma symptoms in their patients.

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