Department of Dermatology, Dr. Behcet Uz Children's Hospital, Izmir, Turkey.
J Cutan Med Surg. 2010 Jan-Feb;14(1):13-8. doi: 10.2310/7750.2010.09021.
The hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis has an important immunoregulatory role under stress, and stress-mediated anxiety has been reported to be associated with alterations in immune functions and attenuated cortisol levels in atopic dermatitis (AD) patients.
We investigated serum basal cortisol and anxiety levels in pediatric AD patients and compared them with those of controls.
Basal serum cortisol levels were measured in 36 pediatric AD patients (aged 9-16 years) and 36 control subjects (aged 9-15 years). Anxiety was assessed by the trait anxiety subscale (TAI-C) of the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory for Children. The severity of AD was assessed by the objective severity scoring of AD (SCORing Atopic Dermatitis [SCORAD]).
Data analysis showed no statistical difference for the basal serum cortisol levels (p = .383) and the TAI-C (p = .730) between the two groups. No significant correlation was found between the basal cortisol values and the TAI-C scores in the AD group (p = .290). The SCORAD index was correlated with the TAI-C scores (p < .05) but not correlated with the basal serum cortisol values in AD patients (p = .06).
Children with AD do not have more anxiety or different cortisol levels when compared with normal children, but the severe symptomatology of AD itself may cause anxiety levels to increase in children with AD.
下丘脑-垂体-肾上腺轴在应激下具有重要的免疫调节作用，有报道称，应激介导的焦虑与特应性皮炎（AD）患者的免疫功能改变和皮质醇水平降低有关。
我们研究了儿科 AD 患者的基础血清皮质醇和焦虑水平，并与对照组进行了比较。
测量了 36 例儿科 AD 患者（9-16 岁）和 36 例对照组（9-15 岁）的基础血清皮质醇水平。焦虑采用儿童状态-特质焦虑量表的特质焦虑分量表（TAI-C）进行评估。AD 的严重程度采用 AD 客观严重评分（SCORing Atopic Dermatitis [SCORAD]）进行评估。
数据分析显示，两组间基础血清皮质醇水平（p =.383）和 TAI-C（p =.730）无统计学差异。AD 组基础皮质醇值与 TAI-C 评分之间无显著相关性（p =.290）。SCORAD 指数与 TAI-C 评分相关（p <.05），但与 AD 患者的基础血清皮质醇值无关（p =.06）。
与正常儿童相比，AD 儿童的焦虑或皮质醇水平没有差异，但 AD 的严重症状本身可能会导致 AD 儿童的焦虑水平升高。
