title: The influence of pregnancy and menstruation on the deterioration of atopic dermatitis symptoms.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Female patients with atopic dermatitis (AD) often experience cutaneous deterioration associated with their pregnancy or menstrual cycle.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  We wanted to determine the prevalence of symptom aggravation as related to pregnancy and the menstrual cycle in female patients with AD.
  
  
  METHODS
  One hundred female patients with AD were included in the study and interviews were performed. The total IgE level and the Eczema Area and Severity Index score of the patients were retrospectively reviewed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Ninety seven patients replied the questionnaire, and among them, 23 patients had completed at least 1 pregnancy. Among the 23 women who experienced pregnancy, 14 (61%) had noticed deterioration of their clinical symptoms during pregnancy. Of the 97 females, 31 (32%) patients had noticed deterioration of their AD as related to their menstrual cycle. For the patients who were sub-grouped as the intrinsic type of AD, the prevalence of symptom aggravation as related to pregnancy was significantly higher as compared to that of the extrinsic type of AD patients (p=0.048).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Of the 97 patients, 45 (46%) females answered that they have experienced deterioration of AD during pregnancy or in relation to their menstrual cycle, and this suggests the relation of a hormonal influence on the clinical manifestations of AD.
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology and Cutaneous Biology Research Institute, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Suhyun
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Cho
authors.forename: Hee Jung
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Sang Ho
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Oh
authors.forename: Chang Ook
authors.initials: CO
authors.lastname: Park
authors.forename: Jin Young
authors.initials: JY
authors.lastname: Jung
authors.forename: Kwang Hoon
authors.initials: KH
authors.lastname: Lee