Article
Temperature and humidity are associated with non-atopic eczema in elderly German women
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Authors
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Michael J. Abramson
- School of Public Health & Preventive Medicine, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia
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Claudia Wigmann
- IUF – Leibniz-Institut für umweltmedizinische Forschung GmbH, Düsseldorf, Germany
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Nidhi Singh
- IUF – Leibniz-Institut für umweltmedizinische Forschung GmbH, Düsseldorf, Germany
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Jean Krutmann
- IUF – Leibniz-Institut für umweltmedizinische Forschung GmbH, Düsseldorf, Germany
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Tamara Schikowski
- IUF – Leibniz-Institut für umweltmedizinische Forschung GmbH, Düsseldorf, Germany
| Published: | September 6, 2024 |
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Outline
Text
Introduction: As climate change accelerates, there is increasing interest in the effects of climatic factors on chronic non-communicable diseases. Eczema is the most burdensome chronic skin condition globally [1] and environmental risk factors including temperature, humidity, ultraviolet (UV) radiation, and outdoor and indoor air pollutants potentially play an important role in eczema [2]. Yet, the epidemiological literature has not been consistent about the relationships of climatic factors on eczema. In addition, little is known about eczema in older people in general. We aimed to investigate the relationship between long-term exposure to climatic factors such as temperature and relative humidity (RH) and prevalent eczema in elderly German women.
Methods: We analysed data from the second follow-up of the Study on the influence of air pollution on Lung function Inflammation and Ageing (SALIA) cohort. Participants completed an interviewer-administered questionnaire, and blood was drawn from a subsample and analysed for total serum immunoglobulin E (IgE). We explored 3 increasingly strict definitions of non-atopic eczema based on the absence of hayfever and normal IgE concentrations. Mean annual temperatures and RH were obtained from the German Weather Service. Ultraviolet B (UVB) radiation was assigned to each participant’s residential address. Logistic regression models were fitted with covariates chosen a priori, guided by a directed acyclic graph.
Results: The 826 women (median age 73.6 years) had an eczema prevalence of 8.7%. Median annual temperature was 10.4°C and RH 80.2%. There were significant associations between long-term ambient temperature and prevalent eczema. After adjustment for age, Body Mass Index, heating, education, smoking, second-hand smoke and UVB, the associations persisted with more stringent definitions of non-atopic eczema (OR=1.44, 95%CI 1.02-1.99). However non-atopic eczema was less common with increasing RH (adjusted OR=0.82, 0.69-0.98). There was no direct pathway from UVB to eczema.
Conclusions: Higher ambient temperatures and reduced humidity were associated with non-atopic eczema in this cohort of elderly German women. Further cohort studies of both general population samples and eczema patients are required to improve evidence-based practice and policy.
The authors declare that they have no competing interests.
The authors declare that a positive ethics committee vote has been obtained.
References
- 1.
- Arents BWM, van Zuuren EJ, Hughes O, et al. Global Report on Atopic Dermatitis 2022. London, UK: International League of Dermatological Societies; 2022 [last accessed 24 April 2024]. Available from: https://www.atopicdermatitisatlas.org/en/explore-data/reports
- 2.
- Kantor R, Silverberg JI. Environmental risk factors and their role in the management of atopic dermatitis. Expert Review of Clinical Immunology. 2017;13(1):15-26.
