Climate change emerges as major eczema trigger

In an analysis of all relevant published studies that assessed atopic dermatitis (also known as eczema) associated with trends in climate-related hazards due to greenhouse gas emissions, investigators found that impacts include direct effects on eczema, like particulate matter-induced inflammation from wildfires, and indirect effects, such as stress resulting from drought-induced food insecurity.

In their research published in Allergy, the scientists created maps showing the past, present, and future projected burden of eczema relative to climate-related hazards. They noted that data are lacking, especially from regions most likely to experience more of these events as a result of climate change.

We've known for some time that atopic dermatitis is especially sensitive to climatic factors including air pollution; however, there was less clarity around the impact of increasingly common climatic hazards linked to greenhouse gas emission such as warming, heat waves, drought, wildfires, and floods. We found that most climatic hazards have negative effects on atopic dermatitis and that future research should integrate data on the influence of multiple climatic factors on atopic dermatitis incidence, prevalence, and long-term disease activity in more diverse settings to address these research gaps."

Katrina Abuabara, MD, MA, MSCE, corresponding author of the University of California, San Francisco