Persistence of mild to moderate atopic dermatitis.
OBJECTIVE
Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a common illness of childhood.


OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the natural history of AD and determine the persistence of symptoms over time.


METHODS
A cross-sectional and cohort study of a nation-wide long-term registry of children with AD enrolled in the Pediatric Eczema Elective Registry (PEER).


METHODS
Self-reported outcome of whether a child's skin was AD symptom-free for 6 months at 6-month intervals.


RESULTS
A total of 7157 patients were enrolled in the PEER study for a total of 22,550 person-years. At least 2 years of follow-up were observed for 4248 children and at least 5 years of follow-up were observed for 2416 children. Multiple demographic and exposure variables were associated with more persistent AD. At every age (ie, 2-26 years), more than 80% of PEER participants had symptoms of AD and/or were using medication to treat their AD. It was not until age 20 years that 50% of patients had at least 1 lifetime 6-month symptom- and treatment-free period.


CONCLUSIONS
Based on this large longitudinal cohort study, symptoms associated with AD seem to persist well into the second decade of a child's life and likely longer. Atopic dermatitis is probably a life-long illness.
Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia.
Jacob S
JS
Margolis
Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia2Department of Dermatology, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia.
Katrina
K
Abuabara
Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia.
Warren
W
Bilker
Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia.
Ole
O
Hoffstad
Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia2Department of Dermatology, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia.
David J
DJ
Margolis
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003876:Dermatitis, Atopic / Q000175:diagnosis*; D004485:Eczema / Q000175:diagnosis; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D055815:Young Adult