According to the results of a cross-sectional study presented at the Revolutionizing Atopic Dermatitis virtual symposium, patients with atopic dermatitis (AD), aged 65 years and above, have similar disease severity as that in younger adult patients; however, the sleep disturbances in older patients are more profound, particularly difficulty staying asleep.

Researchers enrolled AD patients, 18 years of age and above, who were assessed at an academic medical center from 2014 through 2019. They noted that being 65 years of age or older was not tied to AD severity on the Eczema Area and Severity Index (EASI) (adjusted odds ratio [AOR], 1.47); total Scoring Atopic Dermatitis (aOR, 1.10), and itch subscore (aOR, 1.00); Investigators Global Assessment (IGA) (aOR, 1.87); patient-reported Global Assessment of AD severity (aOR 0.80), or the patient-oriented eczema measure (aOR, 0.55). The associations were not statistically significant.

Older adult age; however, was linked to an increased number of nights with sleep disturbance from AD in the past week (aOR, 2.14; P = .0142), increased fatigue in the last 7 days (aOR, 1.81; P = .0313), difficulty sleeping in the last 7 days (aOR, 1.98; P = .0118), and trouble staying asleep in the last 7 days (aOR, 2.26; P = .0030). It was not associated with difficulty falling asleep in the last 7 days (aOR, 1.16; P = .5996)... (Medscape)