Hand eczema and lifestyle factors in the Dutch general population: Evidence for smoking, chronic stress, and obesity

Abstract

Background Several risk factors, among other lifestyle factors, have been suggested for hand eczema (HE). Objectives To investigate a possible association between HE and lifestyle factors, including smoking, alcohol consumption, stress, body mass index (BMI), waist circumference, physical activity, diet, and amount of sleep in the Dutch general population. Methods Data from the large population‐based LifeLines Cohort Study was used. Individuals with HE in the past year were identified by a cross‐sectional questionnaire in 2020. At baseline, information on lifestyle factors was collected. Results In total 57 046 individuals were included in the present analysis. Smoking ≥8 cigarettes/day, and smoking ≥15 pack years showed a positive association with HE in the past year. In addition, chronic stress, a BMI >30 kg/m2, and a waist circumference of >90 cm were positively associated with HE in the past year. Conclusions The current study indicates that lifestyle factors are associated with HE. Advice regarding lifestyle factors might contribute to enhance overall health, of which HE might possibly benefit in conjunction. Further studies should also focus on the association between lifestyle factors and the severity and prognosis of HE rather than on occurrence alone.

Smoking and obesity are associated with chronic hand eczema and severity of hand eczema: Data from the Dutch general population

“…Regarding the lifestyle factors, smoking and obesity were associated with both the self-reported 1-year prevalence of CHE and severity of HE, which is in line with the previously published results of the association between lifestyle factors and having HE in the past year in the same study population. 1 Reporting less physical activity was associated particularly with severe-to-very severe HE. Stress and being overweighed were only positively associated with CHE.…”

“…Institutional review board approval was obtained at the University Medical Center Groningen, and all participants provided informed consent. Details on definitions and categorization of CHE and all lifestyle factors has been published before and can be found in Appendix S1; Table S1 1,6 . Binary logistic regression models were performed with CHE in the past year vs never HE, and severe‐to‐very severe HE vs almost clear‐to‐moderate HE at worst in the past year, as the dependent variables.…”

“…factors has been published before and can be found in Appendix S1; Table S1. 1,6 Binary logistic regression models were performed with CHE in the past year vs never HE, and severe-to-very severe HE vs almost clear-to-moderate HE at worst in the past year, as the dependent variables. Multivariate analysis were adjusted for age, sex, atopic dermatitis (AD), and wet activities.…”

“…Several studies reported on the association between lifestyle factors and hand eczema (HE) before, and recently the association between HE and lifestyle factors was also investigated in a large sample of the Dutch general population. 1 However, only a small subset of the previous studies included severity of HE as outcome measure, [2][3][4] and only a few of them focused specifically on chronic hand eczema (CHE). Therefore, the aim of the current study was to assess the association between lifestyle factors and HE from the same large sample of the Dutch general population, however, this time with a focus on prevalence of CHE and severity of HE.…”

“…Data on HE, CHE, severity of HE, age, AD, and exposure to wet activities were part of the add-on questionnaire; all other variables were included in the baseline assessment. Exact definitions for each variable were published previously and can be found in Appendix S1; TableS1 1,6. …”