title: Adult atopic dermatitis patients and physical exercise: a Swedish questionnaire study.
abstract: Physical activity promotes health and prevents disease. When patients with atopic dermatitis (AD) undertake exercise, the itch often gets worse due to sweating, and this may reduce their engagement in physical exercise. The aim of this study was to determine the level of physical exercise in patients with AD compared with a control group from a normal population. Our hypothesis was that patients with AD have a lower level of physical exercise due to their skin disease. A total of 110 patients with AD and 196 subjects from a normal population, age range 20-34 years, answered a questionnaire. Eleven patients with AD underwent an in-depth interview. The patients with AD had the same level of physical exercise and attitude to physical exercise as the normal population. Therefore, our hypothesis could not be confirmed. In conclusion, the skin symptoms of AD do not appear to be an obstacle to moderate physical exercise.
authors.affiliation: Unit of Dermatology and Venereology, Department of Medicine Karolinska Institutet, 171 76 Stockholm, Sweden. Sol-Britt.Lonne-Rahm@karolinska.se.
authors.forename: Sol-Britt
authors.initials: SB
authors.lastname: Lonne-Rahm
authors.forename: Isabelle
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Sundström
authors.forename: Klas
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Nordlind
authors.forename: Lars-Magnus
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Engström
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D003876:Dermatitis, Atopic / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D015444:Exercise / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D015438:Health Behavior; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013546:Sweating / Q000502:physiology; D013548:Sweden / Q000453:epidemiology; D055815:Young Adult