Atopic dermatitis linked to increased risk of coeliac disease

Takeaway

• Atopic dermatitis (AD) is associated with increased risk for coeliac disease, according to a large, cross-sectional study.

Why this matters

• This study suggests that patients with AD should be screened for gastrointestinal morbidities.

Key results

• Patients with AD had higher prevalence of coeliac disease compared with control patients (0.6% vs 0.4%; P<.001).
  • In subgroup analysis, this association was also significant for adult patients (0.6% vs 0.3%; P<.001) and adult patients with moderate to severe AD (0.8% vs 0.3%; P=.001).
• AD was associated with increased prevalence of coeliac disease in multivariate analysis (OR, 1.609; P<.001).
  • OR, 1.652 (P<.001) for adult patients.
  • OR, 2.132 (P=.006) for adults with moderate to severe AD.

Study design

• 116,816 patients with AD (45,157 adults, 1909 adults with moderate to severe disease) were compared with matched control subjects and analysed for prevalence of coeliac disease.
• Funding: None.

Limitations

• Observational study of large database.