Key clinical point: Children with atopic dermatitis (AD) have a significantly higher likelihood of increased body mass index (BMI) corresponding to overweight or obesity, with a positive correlation observed between increased BMI and AD severity.
Major finding: Patients with AD had a three times higher risk for overweight (odds ratio [OR] 3.61; P < .01) and a six times higher risk for obesity (OR 6.61; P < .05) than control participants. Furthermore, the risk for overweight or obesity was almost 20 times higher in patients with moderate to severe AD (OR 20.4; P < .001) vs those with mild AD.
Study details: This retrospective case-control study included 130 children with AD and 130 age- and sex-matched control participants who were categorized according to their BMI and nutritional status as underweight (percentile < 5), normal weight (percentile 5-84), overweight (percentile 85-94), or obese (percentile ≥ 95).
Disclosures: The authors did not disclose any source of funding. The authors declared no conflicts of interest.
Source: Sendrea AM, Cristea S, Salavastru CM. Association between increased body mass index (BMI) and atopic dermatitis in children attending a tertiary referral center: A case-control study. Cureus. 2024;16:e60770. doi: 10.7759/cureus.60770 Source