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Atopic Dermatitis and Celiac Disease: A Cross-Sectional Study of 116,816 Patients

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Abstract

Background

Both atopic dermatitis and celiac disease are often accompanied by other immune-mediated disorders.

Objective

The objective of this study was to evaluate the potential association between atopic dermatitis and celiac disease in a broad community-based population.

Methods

A cross-sectional observational design was used. Demographic and clinical data were collected for patients enrolled in a large health management organization who were diagnosed with atopic dermatitis by a dermatologist in 2002–17. The presence of celiac disease/celiac disease-related morbidities was recorded for the whole group, for adults (age > 18 years), and for adults with moderate-to-severe atopic dermatitis. Findings were compared with a matched control group without atopic dermatitis.

Results

The study group included 116,816 patients of whom 45,157 were adults; 1909 adult patients had moderate-to-severe atopic dermatitis. Compared to the respective control subjects, the prevalence rate of celiac disease in the whole group was 0.6% vs. 0.4%; in the adults, 0.6% vs. 0.3%; and in the adults with moderate-to-severe atopic dermatitis, 0.8% vs. 0.3% (p < 0.001 for all). On multivariate analysis, atopic dermatitis was associated with a significantly higher prevalence of celiac disease (odds ratio = 1.609, 95% confidence interval 1.42–1.82, p < 0.001) in the entire study population and each subgroup.

Conclusions

We observed a significant association between atopic dermatitis and celiac disease. This association emphasizes the need for timely screening of gastrointestinal morbidities in individuals with atopic dermatitis to prevent long-term complications.

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Author information

Author notes

  1. Guy Shalom, Khalaf Kridin, Rivka Friedland and Dan Ben-Amitai contributed equally to the article.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Clalit Health Services, Tel Aviv, Israel

    Guy Shalom, Rivka Friedland & Dan Ben-Amitai

  2. Division of Community Health, Faculty of Health Sciences, Siaal Research Center for Family Medicine and Primary Care, Ben Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva, Israel

    Guy Shalom, Tamar Freud & Arnon D. Cohen

  3. Department of Dermatology, Rambam Health Care Campus, P.O. Box 9602, Haifa, 31096, Israel

    Khalaf Kridin

  4. Pediatric Dermatology Unit, Schneider Children’s Medical Center of Israel, Petach Tikva, Israel

    Keren-Or Raviv, Doron Comaneshter, Rivka Friedland & Dan Ben-Amitai

  5. Chief Physician’s Office, Clalit Health Services, Tel Aviv, Israel

    Arnon D. Cohen

  6. Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel

    Rivka Friedland & Dan Ben-Amitai

Authors
  1. Guy Shalom
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  2. Khalaf Kridin
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  3. Keren-Or Raviv
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  4. Tamar Freud
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  5. Doron Comaneshter
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  6. Rivka Friedland
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  7. Arnon D. Cohen
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  8. Dan Ben-Amitai
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Khalaf Kridin.

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Funding

No funding was received for the conduct of this study or the preparation of this article.

Conflict of interest

Guy Shalom, Khalaf Kridin, Keren-Or Raviv, Tamar Freud, Doron Comaneshter, Rivka Friedland, Arnon D. Cohen, and Dan Ben-Amitai have no conflicts of interest that are directly relevant to the content of this article.

Ethical approval

The present study was conducted in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki and all appropriate amendments. The study was approved by the Ethics Review Committee of Clalit Health Services.

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Cite this article

Shalom, G., Kridin, K., Raviv, KO. et al. Atopic Dermatitis and Celiac Disease: A Cross-Sectional Study of 116,816 Patients. Am J Clin Dermatol 21, 133–138 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40257-019-00474-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40257-019-00474-2

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