Eczema research continues to advance rapidly, with new treatments and groundbreaking studies underway, and part of the National Eczema Association's (NEA) mission is to support and contribute to important advances in how we understand and treat this complex condition.
To prepare our Research Trends Report, so that everyone can keep up to date with the latest news in eczema research, we asked members of our research team what recent developments in the broad field of eczema research excite them most. Here are their responses:
1. A new database called the NIH All of Us Research Program
Exciting New Research: Recently, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) announced a new database called the All of Us Research Program. The All of Us Research Program is collecting health data from over 800,000 people across the United States, with a goal of reaching 1 million. This data includes electronic health records (digital records kept by doctors), biological samples such as blood and urine tests, genomic data, surveys, and data from wearable devices such as the FitBit.
Why this matters: With over 80% of participants coming from groups traditionally underrepresented in biomedical research, the All of Us project ensures a diverse and representative sample that will hopefully uncover new and impactful connections in health research.
Such a large database will help researchers look at different angles, discover exciting new connections, and answer broader questions for the patient community. “All of Us now has more than 10,000 people living with atopic dermatitis (AD) among its participants, which will lead to a wave of exciting new discoveries and insights,” said Alison Loisel, PhD, senior manager of data science and research at NEA.
Exciting New Research: Three recent papers from the All of Us Research Program found links between AD and contact dermatitis, high blood pressure, hyperlipidemia (high cholesterol), and inflammatory bowel disease. 1–3
“One of the most interesting uses of these databases is to see whether different health conditions are associated with each other,” says Loisel. Researchers do this “cross-sectionally,” that is, by looking at data from a population at a particular point in time. “For example, we can see which conditions occur more frequently in people with AD than in those without AD, usually using a large amount of supporting data to 'control' for other factors (such as sex, race, smoking) that may affect whether you get the condition in question,” says Loisel.
What they found: The researchers found that people with AD were more than four times more likely to develop contact dermatitis than people without AD. This is important because the relationship between the two conditions is not well understood. One theory is that people with AD have heightened sensitivity to contact, or that immune dysregulation and disruption of the skin barrier caused by AD makes them more susceptible to contact dermatitis.
The study also found that patients with AD were approximately twice as likely to have hypertension and hyperlipidemia compared to those without AD. Previous studies on these associations have produced conflicting results. The study authors propose that systemic inflammation and sleep disorders may contribute to the development of these two conditions.
Another study demonstrated that AD patients were approximately two times more likely to develop inflammatory bowel disease, as well as Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis. The authors proposed that stress, inflammation, and specific genes identified in both conditions may be responsible for this association.
Why this is important: Identifying connections to other health conditions sheds light on the multifaceted burden faced by people with AD and can help shape comprehensive treatment approaches. Understanding these relationships can help researchers better understand the causes and drivers of AD and identify targets for future treatments.
“Because people with AD may only see a dermatologist regularly and not their primary care physician, appropriate screening for certain symptoms may be needed at the point of care to improve overall clinical outcomes,” Loisel said.
3. Understanding factors contributing to adverse quality of life outcomes in the All of Us research program data
Exciting new research: Several studies have uncovered disparities in medical care for various chronic inflammatory skin diseases, including AD, based on race, ethnicity, sex, and gender status. However, the impact of these factors on health-related quality of life has not been well studied.
One paper used the All of Us database to explore the impact on quality of life of both economic (cost-related) and non-economic (non-cost-related) barriers to receiving treatment for multiple chronic inflammatory skin diseases (acne, AD, hidradenitis suppurativa, psoriasis, and rosacea).4
The survey looked at factors participants reported as “cost barriers,” such as doctor delays (e.g., not filling a prescription because they can't afford it), as well as “non-cost” barriers, such as transportation issues, not being able to take time off work for treatment, delays in treatment because a health care provider speaks a different race, religion, or language, and not always being treated with respect by health care providers.
Findings: Overall, patients who experienced one or more of these barriers were twice as likely to have poor health-related quality of life across all conditions studied.
Why this matters: To address health disparities, it is important to understand the factors that negatively impact health-related quality of life. “Healthcare providers, especially dermatologists who see many patients with chronic inflammatory skin diseases, need to be aware of these real and non-cost factors that impact care and outcomes,” said Wendy Smith Begorka, MBS, chief strategy officer for Research, Medical and Community Affairs at NEA.
Your role in the research
If you suffer from eczema or love someone who does, don't miss the opportunity to take part in ongoing eczema research and find out what happens next. Find out more about opportunities to get involved in eczema research.
References:
1. Sandler M, Chen LC, Yu J. Association between atopic dermatitis and allergic contact dermatitis: a cross-sectional analysis using the All of Us research program. Dermatitis. 2024. doi:10.1089/derm.2024.0033
2. Craver AE, Chen GF, Cohen JM. Association of atopic dermatitis with hypertension and hyperlipidemia: a cross-sectional study in the All of Us research program. J Am Acad Dermatol. 2024;90(4):819-821. doi:10.1016/j.jaad.2023.11.026
3. Marina Z. Joel, William Damsky, Jeffrey M. Cohen, and Mitchell Ryde, “Association between atopic dermatitis and inflammatory bowel disease among US adults in the All of Us Research Program,” Clinical and Experimental Dermatology, 2024;49(4):390–392. doi:10.1093/ced/llad397
4. Nock, MR, Barbieri, JS & Cohen, JM Treatment barriers and health-related quality of life for common chronic inflammatory skin diseases in US adults: a cross-sectional analysis from the NIH All of Us research program. Arch Dermatol Res. 2024;316(201). doi:10.1007/s00403-024-02954-w
