Prevalence, incidence, and severity of hand eczema in the general population – A systematic review and meta‐analysis

Abstract

Accurate assessments of the burden of hand eczema (HE) in the general population are important for public awareness and intervention. The aim of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to provide updated estimates of prevalence and incidence, alongside additional epidemiological endpoints on HE in the general population.PubMed, Embase and Web of Science were searched for studies reporting the prevalence and/or incidence of HE in the general population. Proportion meta-analyses were performed to calculate pooled estimates of prevalence, incidence, severity, and the proportion of individuals with HE and a history of atopic dermatitis. Sixty-six studies were included in the quantitative analysis encompassing 568 100 individuals. The pooled estimates for lifetime, 1-year, and point prevalence were 14.5% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 12.6-16.5), 9.1% (95% CI: 8.4-9.8) and 4.0% (95% CI: 2.6-5.7), respectively. The pooled incidence rate of HE was 7.3 cases/1000 person-years (95% CI: 5.4-9.5). The occurrence of HE was 1.5-2 times higher in females than males. More than one third suffered from moderate/severe disease and around one third had a history of atopic dermatitis. HE was a recurrent, long-lasting disease with an average age at onset of the early-to mid-twenties. In conclusion; HE is a highly prevalent disease in the general population and carries a significant risk of long-term or chronic disease.

Frequency of hand eczema in the elderly: Cross‐sectional findings from the German AugUR study

“…Compared to other studies, our estimates were remarkably lower: Quaade et al performed a systematic review 5 on studies published between 1964 and 2019 and calculated a pooled lifetime HE prevalence of 14.5%. This review contained 66 studies on HE, of which 22 (including 151 693 persons) were considered for lifetime prevalence estimation.…”

“…We did not use estimates from these studies to conduct sensitivity analyses with our data because Meding et al 29 as well as Svensson et al 30 considered self‐reports for current hand eczema and not self‐reported physician‐diagnosed lifetime hand eczema as in our study. In general, sensitivity of self‐reported HE is considered to be low 5,31 . In addition, self‐reports on physician‐diagnosed HE tend to underestimate the true prevalence, as mentioned by Quaade et al 5 Therefore, it would be speculative to apply the sensitivity and specificity from one of those validity studies mentioned above to our estimates.…”

“…In general, sensitivity of self‐reported HE is considered to be low 5,31 . In addition, self‐reports on physician‐diagnosed HE tend to underestimate the true prevalence, as mentioned by Quaade et al 5 Therefore, it would be speculative to apply the sensitivity and specificity from one of those validity studies mentioned above to our estimates. Unfortunately, an internal or external verification of the self‐reports against a physician diagnosis was not feasible for this study.…”

“…Hand eczema (HE) is an inflammatory skin disease caused 1,2 by genetic predisposition (40%) and environmental factors (60%). It is estimated that ~10% to 15% people are affected by HE worldwide 2‐5 . A currently published systematic review 5 on population‐based studies (1964 to 2019) on HE prevalence showed a lifetime prevalence of 14.5%.…”

“…It is estimated that ~10% to 15% people are affected by HE worldwide 2‐5 . A currently published systematic review 5 on population‐based studies (1964 to 2019) on HE prevalence showed a lifetime prevalence of 14.5%. A population‐based study 6 on the prevalence of HE, not included in this systematic review, was performed from August 2008 to October 2011 across five European countries (Germany, Italy, The Netherlands, Portugal, and Sweden) and revealed a lifetime prevalence of 15%.…”