Climate change factors including greenhouse gas emission, global warming, heat waves, drought, wildfires, and floods can all affect atopic dermatitis (AD) prevalence, severity/flares, and AD-related health care utilization, new research in Allergy shows.
There are many ways these climactic factors can affect AD including by exacerbating the barrier impairment, immune dysregulation, dysbiosis, and pruritus involved in the pathogenesis of AD.
For the study, 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.
“Our study adds to the research on climate change by providing clarity about the extent of research on climatic hazards and AD, including the research gaps and lack of evidence in the locations most impacted now and projected to be most impacted in the future,” conclude researchers who were led by Katrina Abuabara, MD, of the University of California, San Francisco.
