Atopic dermatitis is associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular diseases: A large-scale, propensity-matched US-based retrospective study.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Atopic dermatitis is a chronic relapsing inflammatory skin disease characterized by intense itch impacting heavily on patients' and caregivers' quality of life. Its clinical presentation is accompanied by a variety of type 2 comorbidities, e.g. asthma, hay fever, food allergies. However, current data on cardiovascular comorbidities are inconsistent. OBJECTIVES: To identify risk of cardiovascular diseases in patients with atopic dermatitis. METHODS: Data from Electronic Health Records (EHRs) of 1,070,965 atopic dermatitis patients and equally propensity score matched controls were retrieved from the US Collaborative Network part of the federated TriNetX network. Hazard ratios for risk of onset of cardiovascular diseases with a prevalence of ≥1% in both cohorts within 20 years after diagnosis were determined. RESULTS: A total of 55 cardiovascular diseases belonging to 8 major cardiovascular groups were identified. Of those, 53 diagnoses displayed a significantly increased risk in atopic dermatitis patients. Different diagnoses of heart failure and heart disease were found most often, followed by valve insufficiencies, arrhythmia, tachycardia, atrial fibrillation, flutter, but also MACE and venous thromboembolism. The individual diagnoses venous insufficiency, atherosclerosis of native arteries of the extremities, and unspecified diastolic (congestive) heart failure displayed highest hazard ratios. CONCLUSION: Atopic dermatitis is associated with an increased risk for multiple cardiovascular diseases.