Pediatric Dermatology Service, Soroka University Medical Center, Beer Sheva, Israel.
Faculty of Health Sciences, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer Sheva, Israel.
Dermatology. 2022;238(2):313-319. doi: 10.1159/000515600. Epub 2021 Apr 21.
Given that common pathophysiological factors play a role in atopic dermatitis (AD) and infertility, we assumed that the 2 conditions might demonstrate an epidemiological association. Large-scale epidemiological data on this topic are lacking.
The aim of this work was to evaluate the potential association between AD and infertility in a broad community-based population.
A nationwide retrospective cohort study was conducted, analyzing the association between AD and infertility. We compared AD patients diagnosed by a dermatologist between 2002 and 2018 and a matched control group. The study population was subdivided according to age into adults (age ≥18 years) and children (age <18 years), and was further subdivided according to AD severity, classified as either mild or moderate-to-severe according to AD-related drug use and healthcare services utilization.
The study included 127,150 patients with AD and 127,071 comparison enrollees. AD was associated with a higher prevalence of infertility than that of the control group (1.4 and 1.1%, respectively). The prevalence of infertility, per 1,000 patient-years, was increased in patients with AD compared to that of the control group (2.17 and 1.7, respectively). Multivariate analysis for infertility demonstrated that AD was a key risk factor for infertility in both males and females with mild AD and moderate-to-severe AD.
A significant association between AD and infertility was observed. This association suggests that infertility may be an additional manifestation of AD. Further studies are warranted to evaluate the impact of AD management in the setting of infertility and vice versa.
鉴于特应性皮炎（AD）和不孕之间存在共同的病理生理因素，我们假设这两种疾病可能存在流行病学关联。关于这个主题的大规模流行病学数据尚缺乏。
本研究旨在评估广泛的基于社区的人群中 AD 与不孕之间的潜在关联。
进行了一项全国性的回顾性队列研究，分析 AD 与不孕之间的关联。我们比较了 2002 年至 2018 年间由皮肤科医生诊断的 AD 患者和匹配的对照组。根据年龄将研究人群分为成年人（年龄≥18 岁）和儿童（年龄<18 岁），并根据 AD 严重程度进一步细分，根据 AD 相关药物使用和医疗保健服务利用情况分为轻度或中重度。
研究纳入了 127150 例 AD 患者和 127071 名对照参与者。AD 患者的不孕患病率高于对照组（分别为 1.4%和 1.1%）。与对照组相比，AD 患者的每 1000 患者年的不孕患病率增加（分别为 2.17 和 1.7）。对不孕的多变量分析表明，无论男性还是女性，轻度 AD 和中重度 AD 患者的 AD 均是不孕的重要危险因素。
AD 与不孕之间存在显著关联。这种关联表明不孕可能是 AD 的另一种表现。需要进一步研究评估 AD 管理对不孕的影响以及反之亦然。
