Abstract
Excerpt: Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a common pruritic skin disease characterized by acute disease flares and remissions.1,2 The worldwide prevalence of childhood AD ranges from 7% to 25%.1,3,4 AD is also common in adults; it may begin in adulthood or persist from childhood, and it has a prevalence of about 10%.1 AD is observed across all races and ethnicities, and in the United States it is likely more common in Black children than in White children.1,2,5 AD has been associated with the sequential progression to asthma and/or allergic rhinitis (AR), which is referred to as the ‘‘atopic march’’ and is thought to occur because of a common atopic pathophysiology linked to epithelial barrier defect, genetic predisposition, and environmental and immunologic factors.2,3,5 How the march is defined may vary depending on the article.2 The march classically includes the onset of asthma and AR after AD, but it can include other illnesses such as food allergies (FAs), eosinophilic esophagitis, allergic conjunctivitis, pet allergies, and specific sequential progressions of these illnesses in individuals with AD.2,3 Understanding the march is thought to be critically important for preventing the onset of these other atopic illnesses among individuals with AD. Patients can develop asthma or AR.
