Increased Risk of Dementia in Patients with Atopic Dermatitis: A Nationwide Population-Based Cohort Study

Abstract

Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a chronic inflammatory skin disorder with bimodal incidence peaks in early childhood and middle-aged and older adults. Few studies have focused on the risk of dementia in AD. The aims of this study were to analyse the incidence, and risk factors for dementia in patients with AD. This nationwide population-based retrospective cohort study enrolled 38,391 adults ≥ 40 years of age with AD and 2,643,602 controls without AD from the Korean National Health Insurance System (NHIS) database from 2009 to 2016. The cumulative incidence probability of all-cause dementia, Alzheimer’s disease, or vascular dementia at 8 years was 50, 39, and 7 per 1,000 person-years in patients with AD, respectively. The adjusted risks of all-cause dementia (hazard ratio (HR), 1.072; 95% confidence interval (95% CI) 1.026–1.120), and Alzheimer’s disease (HR 1.051; 95% CI 1.000–1.104) were increased in patients with AD. The effect of AD on the development of all-cause dementia and Alzheimer’s dementia varied according to age and diabetes mellitus (all p for interaction, < 0.05). The risks of all-cause dementia and Alzheimer’s disease were increased in patients with AD. Management of modifiable risk factors is important for preventing dementia in patients with AD.

Do Atopic Dermatitis and Psoriasis Have an Impact on Cognitive Decline—Latest Research Review

“…Many of the studies published so far have shown that the prevalence of cognitive impairment is higher in people with certain inflammatory skin diseases, including psoriasis and chronic eczema dermatitis [22,23,42,43]. Nine studies included in this review are coherent with those findings [30,32,33,[35][36][37][39][40][41]. Yi et al (2024) assessed alterations of intrinsic brain activity and its association with cognitive function in patients with psoriasis.…”

“…Two of the eight studies [ 33 , 35 ] focused on dementia, and both confirmed a greater risk of developing dementia in people with atopic dermatitis compared to healthy people. The first study [ 33 ] showed that the association increased with the severity of atopic eczema.…”

Atopy improves survival and decreases risk of brain metastasis in cutaneous melanoma

“…A relationship with the immune milieu of the CNS is plausible, as prior analyses have shown that atopic dermatitis increases lifetime risk of dementia and stroke, and may reduce risk of glioma and meningioma. 24,[30][31][32] Melanoma and atopic dermatitis are both dermatologic conditions, and it is likely that someone with existing atopic dermatitis may be more likely to receive a melanoma diagnosis at an earlier stage than someone without a dermatologic condition. Prior analyses based on occupational examinations for skin cancers (screened regardless of dermatologic disease status) have found significantly lower incidence among those with atopic conditions, 6 suggesting that this association is not solely the result of screening bias.…”

Improvement in Cutaneous Conditions Can Benefit Some Health Conditions in the Elderly

“…Recent studies demonstrated that atopic dermatitis also increases the risk of dementia and Alzheimer’s diseases, with hazard ratio of as high as 3.74. 58–60 The link between atopic dermatitis and aging-associated disorders is also evidenced by a positive correlation of the prevalence of these disorders with the severity of atopic dermatitis. 61 Hence, atopic dermatitis is associated with some aging-associated disorders.…”