A recent abstract/ conference poster presented at the Annual Congress 2022 of the European Academy of Allergy and Clinical Immunology shed light on the dissimilarities between men and women in how they perceive and are impacted by allergic conditions called atopic dermatitis. Roughly 5 to 15% of people suffer from eczema or atopic dermatitis in Europe. Dry skin and itchiness are commonly observed in these patients.

There is a scarcity of studies on whether the severity of symptoms is affected by sex differences. But it appears that this allergic condition deteriorates the quality of life of women as opposed to men. Researchers from Switzerland and Germany are performing a "ProRaD study- Prospective longitudinal study examining (endo) phenotype and remission stage in atopic dermatitis patients and other allergy-associated diseases”. A 5-year data of a total of 1011 patients aged 12 to 88 years with atopic dermatitis were analyzed by Dr Katharina Zeiser and colleagues.

Based on objective symptom measurements (the affected body surface area or symptom scores reported by the physician via clinical tools- Eczema Area and Severity Index [EASI] or SCORing Atopic Dermatitis [SCORAD]), men had more serious symptoms than women. As for subjective measurements (patient-reported itching or sleeplessness and the negative impact on the quality of life), no sex differences were found. Results remained the same even if age groups, education and treatment were considered. Nevertheless, therapy use and lower educational levels were linked with greater symptom harshness in both women and men.

This indicates a notable state known as the social gradient in health i.e. people with high symptom severity of atopic dermatitis are more likely to use some sort of therapy. And, low educational levels are connected with elevated severity of symptoms. In the case of symptoms of moderate to severe intensity, women had a more severe quality of life impairment than men based on the association between objective severity measures and the dermatologic quality of life index (DLQI) questionnaire. It can be safely concluded that even if men had more severe objective symptoms compared to women, the subjective symptoms were equally excruciating and their quality of life was equally impaired as described by women.

This data be an eye-opener about different perceptions of men and women who are affected by atopic dermatitis.  As stated by Dr Zeiser, ProRaD study centre, Institute of Environmental Medicine in Augsburg, Germany, ‘additional data needs to be examined for a clear elucidation of the biological, microbiological processes or psychosocial determinants responsible for what we can discern.’ This can give way to an effective prevention and individualized treatment approach for atopic dermatitis in different sets of patients, Claudia Traidl and Hoffmann added.