The untold story of atopic dermatitis

Abstract

Atopic dermatitis (AD) has an impact on all aspects of patients' life. It affects the quality of life and emotional well-being of a person. A great number of comorbidities occur in patients with AD, apart from the cutaneous features. This review is about the varied comorbidities of AD and its burden on the patient. There are three types of review: Scoping review; literature review; and nonsystematic review. There are various interrelated comorbidities in AD. Chronic pruritus and inflammation lead to psychosocial stress, anxiety, and depression. AD is associated with asthma, hay fever, food allergy, eosinophilic esophagitis, and allergic contact dermatitis. Other associations are cutaneous and extracutaneous infections of bacterial, viral, and fungal origin. AD is also associated with various autoimmune and cardiovascular diseases. AD is associated with several comorbidities which directly and indirectly affects the patient and their immediate family in terms of physical, mental, and emotional well-being. There is a need for such a review regarding the associations between AD and nonallergic conditions as the early detection and management improves the patient's overall wellbeing.

Keywords

• atopic dermatitis
• comorbidities
• untold story