Results of a large cohort study in Denmark found that adults with atopic dermatitis (AD) were significantly more likely to be affected by certain ocular conditions, compared with those who did not have AD.
“Keratitis, conjunctivitis, and keratoconus as well as cataracts in patients younger than 50 years occurred more frequently in patients with AD and in a disease severity–dependent manner,” concluded the authors, who wrote that as far as they know, this is the largest study conducted to date of ocular disorders in adults with AD.
Dr. Jacob Thyssen
The investigators also found an elevated risk of a keratitis diagnosis among patients with mild AD (hazard ratio, 1.66; 95% confidence interval, 1.15-2.40) and those with severe AD (HR, 3.17; 95% CI, 2.31-4.35). Severe AD was associated with an elevated risk of keratoconus (HR, 10.01; 95% CI, 5.02-19.96),
Cataracts and glaucoma were not more common among those with AD overall. However, cataracts were increased among those under age 50 years with mild and severe AD, which were significant associations for both, but not among those over age 50 with AD. There were no differences for glaucoma risk associated with AD by age.
The investigators acknowledged that the study could not capture the reasons why anti-inflammatory ocular medicines were prescribed and that such medicines could have been prescribed for conditions other than the ocular conditions.
Capturing the risk of ocular diseases in AD is important, they wrote. They referred to “emerging concern” about the incidence of conjunctivitis with “near-future” biologic treatments for AD and the potential for long-term consequences. They referred to adverse event data from randomized clinical trials of dupilumab, an interleukin-4 receptor–alpha antagonist, approved by the Food and Drug Administration in March 2017 for treatment of moderate to severe AD, which included more cases of conjunctivitis among those treated with the biologic, compared with those on placebo (N Engl J Med. 2016 Dec 15;375:2335-48). A “weak trend” for more cases of conjunctivitis was also reported among treated patients with an IL-13 inhibitor, lebrikizumab, in a phase 2 study of adults with AD, they wrote.
Treatments targeting IL-4 receptor–alpha have been shown to result in increased blood eosinophil counts, and “these elevations might have clinical effects,” Dr. Thyssen and his colleagues wrote, adding: “Notably, eosinophils are pathognomonic for allergic eye disease.”
Dr. Thyssen disclosed funding from the Lundbeck Foundation and honoraria from Roche, Sanofi Genzyme, and LEO Pharma. Three other authors on the study reported research funding and/or honoraria from pharmaceutical firms.