Apfelbacher Christian, Bewley Anthony, Molin Sonja, Fargnoli Maria Concetta, Giménez-Arnau Ana Maria, Brignoli Lysel, Rault Bleuenn, Norlin Jenny M, Skaaby Tea, Crépy Marie-Noëlle
Institute of Social Medicine and Health Systems Research, Otto-von-Guericke University Magdeburg, Magdeburg, Germany.
Barts Health NHS Trust and Queen Mary University of London, London, UK.
Br J Dermatol. 2025 May 19;192(6):1047-1054. doi: 10.1093/bjd/ljaf020.
The lack of attention paid to chronic hand eczema (CHE) and the lack of a specific International Classification of Diseases code for it may have limited assessment of its prevalence. To date, prevalence estimates have primarily been derived from (partly small) single-country studies.
To estimate the annual prevalence of self-reported physician-diagnosed CHE across sociodemographic characteristics in adults living in Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK.
In the observational Chronic Hand Eczema epidemiology, Care, and Knowledge of real-life burden (CHECK) study, a questionnaire was administered to adults aged 18-69 years in the general population, recruited through online panels. Quotas and minor weighting adjustments were performed to ensure that the participants were representative of the general population with regard to sex, age, region, employment status, urban/rural setting and - in the UK only - ethnicity. Additional weights were applied to account for population size differences when aggregating country results. Information on self-reported physician-diagnosed CHE was collected. CHE was defined, in accordance with the European Society of Contact Dermatitis, as having had hand eczema continuously for ≥ 3 months or at least two flares in the past 12 months. The annual prevalence of CHE was determined for each country, and by subgroups of sex, age, employment and urban/rural setting.
Of 60 131 participants, 2847 self-reported physician-diagnosed CHE, yielding an annual prevalence of 4.7% [95% confidence interval (CI) 4.6-4.9]. Subgroup analyses revealed that the prevalence of CHE was significantly higher in women than in men [5.6% (95% CI 5.4-5.9) vs. 3.8% (95% CI 3.6-4.1); P < 0.001], in employed vs. unemployed people [5.3% (95% CI 5.1-5.6) vs. 3.3% (95% CI 3.1-3.6); P < 0.001] and in urban vs. rural residents [5.0% (95% CI 4.8-5.2) vs. 3.7% (95% CI 3.4-4.1); P < 0.001). Prevalence was highest in those aged 30-39 years (6.5%, 95% CI 6.0-7.0) and lowest in those aged 60-69 years (2.6%, 95% CI 2.3-3.0).
This large multinational study is the first to assess the prevalence of CHE in Europe and Canada using a consistent definition across a broad geographical population. This study reveals that CHE is a common skin disease with annual prevalence of 4.7%, with a higher prevalence in women, people aged 30-39, employed people and those living in urban areas.
对慢性手部湿疹（CHE）缺乏关注以及缺乏针对它的特定国际疾病分类代码，可能限制了对其患病率的评估。迄今为止，患病率估计主要来自（部分规模较小的）单国研究。
估计在加拿大、法国、德国、意大利、西班牙和英国生活的成年人中，自我报告经医生诊断的CHE的年度患病率，并分析其社会人口学特征。
在观察性的慢性手部湿疹流行病学、护理及现实生活负担认知（CHECK）研究中，通过在线小组招募了18 - 69岁的普通人群成年人，并对其进行问卷调查。进行了配额和轻微加权调整，以确保参与者在性别、年龄、地区、就业状况、城乡环境以及（仅在英国）种族方面代表普通人群。汇总各国结果时，应用额外权重以考虑人口规模差异。收集了关于自我报告经医生诊断的CHE的信息。根据欧洲接触性皮炎学会的定义，CHE被定义为手部湿疹持续≥3个月或在过去12个月内至少发作两次。确定了每个国家以及按性别、年龄、就业和城乡环境划分的亚组的CHE年度患病率。
在60131名参与者中，2847人自我报告经医生诊断患有CHE，年度患病率为4.7% [95%置信区间（CI）4.6 - 4.9]。亚组分析显示，女性CHE患病率显著高于男性[5.6%（95%CI 5.4 - 5.9）对3.8%（95%CI 3.6 - 4.1）；P < 0.001]，就业者高于未就业者[5.3%（95%CI 5.1 - 5.6）对3.3%（95%CI 3.1 - 3.6）；P < 0.001]，城市居民高于农村居民[5.0%（95%CI 4.8 - 5.2）对3.7%（95%CI 3.4 - 4.1）；P < 0.001]。患病率在30 - 39岁人群中最高（6.5%，95%CI 6.0 - 7.0），在60 - 69岁人群中最低（2.6%，95%CI 2.3 - 3.0）。
这项大型跨国研究首次在广泛的地理区域人群中使用一致的定义评估了欧洲和加拿大的CHE患病率。该研究表明，CHE是一种常见的皮肤病，年度患病率为4.7%，在女性、30 - 39岁人群、就业者和城市居民中患病率较高。
