Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a chronic inflammatory skin disease that progresses in flare-ups.
It is characterized by dry skin, red patches and severe itching. Itchy patches can disrupt sleep and have a major impact on the quality of life of patients and their families.
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AD is a multifactorial pathology: it is notably due to an abnormal immune response and a deficiency in the skin barrier (1). In addition, heredity plays a major role. It is estimated that a child with one atopic parent has a 25% risk of becoming atopic, and this risk rises to 50% when both parents are atopic (2). There are also environmental factors such as diet, skin contact, climatic conditions, pollution...
Atopic eczema (or infant eczema) mainly affects young children (under 2 years of age). AD generally disappears before adolescence, but in 20% of cases can persist into adulthood (3). The disease affects up to 15% of children in industrialized countries (4) and up to 4.9% of adults (3).
- Hello M et al. Adult atopic dermatitis. Rev Med Interne. 2016 Feb;37(2):91-99
- Thomsen, S. F. (2015). Epidemiology and natural history of atopic diseases. European Clinical Respiratory Journal, 2(1), 24642. https://doi.org/10.3402/ecrj.v2.24642
- Barbarot, S., Auziere, S., Gadkari, A., Girolomoni, G., Puig, L., Simpson, E. L., Margolis, D. J., Bruin-Weller, M., & Eckert, L. (2018). Epidemiology of atopic dermatitis in adults: Results from an international survey. Allergy, 73(6), 1284-1293. https://doi.org/10.1111/all.13401
- G.S. Tiplica, F. Boralevi, P. Konno, L. Malinauskiene, A. Kaszuba,C. Laurens, M. Saint-Aroman, A. Delarue. The regular use of an emollient improves symptoms of atopic dermatitis in children: a randomized controlled study. J Eur Acad Dermatol Venereol, 2018; DOI : 10.1111/jdv.14849
