Key clinical point: Atopic dermatitis (AD) did not increase the incidence risk for most neuropsychiatric disorders in a pediatric cohort.
Major finding: The risks for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (hazard ratio [HR] 1.02; 95% CI 0.97-1.06), autism (HR 1.02; 95% CI 0.98-1.06), anxiety (HR 1.01; 95% CI 0.99-1.03), and bipolar disorder (HR 1.08; 95% CI 0.85-1.36) were comparable in the AD and non-AD groups. Participants with vs without AD were less likely to develop depression (HR 0.93; 95% CI 0.91-0.95) or schizophrenia (HR 0.72; 95% CI 0.54-0.95) but more likely to develop obsessive compulsive disorder (HR 1.26; 95% CI 1.16-1.37). However, the risks varied with disease severity and patient’s age.
Study details: Findings are from a retrospective population-based cohort study including 409,431 children with AD and 1,809,029 matched children without AD.
Disclosures: This study was supported by a contract from Pfizer, Inc. One author declared being an employee of Pfizer. The other authors reported ties with several sources, including Pfizer.
Source: Wan J et al. Atopic dermatitis and risk of major neuropsychiatric disorders in children: A population-based cohort study. J Eur Acad Dermatol Venereol. 2022 (Aug 26). Doi: 10.1111/jdv.18564