Prevalence, Incidence of Eczema Increase With Severity of Alopecia Areata

MONDAY, July 14, 2025 (HealthDay News) — Patients with higher-severity alopecia areata (AA) have a higher prevalence and incidence of comorbid atopic dermatitis (AD), according to a study published online June 26 in the Journal of Investigative Dermatology.

Christopher G. Bunick, M.D., Ph.D., from the Yale School of Medicine in New Haven, Connecticut, and colleagues used data from the Merative MarketScan Research Databases to examine the prevalence, incidence, and relative risk for comorbid AD among patients with AA. Eligible patients, aged 12 years or older, had one or more inpatient or two or more outpatient claims for AA between Jan. 1, 2017, and Oct. 31, 2023. The prevalence of AD (percentage) and incidence (cases/1,000 person-years) were reported among patients with AA and stratified by disease severity. A subgroup analysis was performed among adolescents aged 12 to 17 years.

The researchers found that the prevalence of AD was 3.2 percent among patients with AA at baseline (overall prevalence in database, 12.1 percent), with most having moderate-to-severe AD; higher prevalence was seen among adolescents with AA (7.6 percent). Regardless of age, the incidence of AD increased with the severity of AA disease. Compared with those with mild disease, those with moderate-to-severe AA had a 78 percent higher risk for being diagnosed with AD. Regardless of AA severity, dermatologist-diagnosed patients had higher rates of comorbid AD.

“Routine monitoring of patients with AA, particularly those at risk of being diagnosed with comorbid AD, may enable earlier and more effective interventions,” the authors write.

Several authors disclosed ties to biopharmaceutical companies, including AbbVie, which funded the study.

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