Open Access

Alexander Egeberg, Andreas Wollenberg, Thomas Bieber, Adina R. Lemeshow, Shefali Vyas

• Background The risk of cardiovascular disease in atopic dermatitis (AD) is not well established. Objectives To evaluate the incidence rate (IR) of venous thromboembolism (VTE) in patients with AD in a population-based cohort study, and to assess atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) risk factors, and incidence of malignancies, major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE), and VTE in patients with AD and rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in a nested cohort analysis. Methods Data from individuals aged ≥12 years (nested cohort: ≥18 years) from January 1, 2000−December 31, 2018, were extracted from the Danish National Patient Registry. Patients with AD were age-/sex-matched with 10 healthy controls. ASCVD risk factors included ≥65 years of age, and history of smoking, coronary artery disease, stroke, deep vein thrombosis (DVT), pulmonary embolism (PE), and malignancy. Results The population-based cohort comprised 190,751 patients: 17,341 with AD and 173,410 healthy controls.Background The risk of cardiovascular disease in atopic dermatitis (AD) is not well established. Objectives To evaluate the incidence rate (IR) of venous thromboembolism (VTE) in patients with AD in a population-based cohort study, and to assess atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) risk factors, and incidence of malignancies, major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE), and VTE in patients with AD and rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in a nested cohort analysis. Methods Data from individuals aged ≥12 years (nested cohort: ≥18 years) from January 1, 2000−December 31, 2018, were extracted from the Danish National Patient Registry. Patients with AD were age-/sex-matched with 10 healthy controls. ASCVD risk factors included ≥65 years of age, and history of smoking, coronary artery disease, stroke, deep vein thrombosis (DVT), pulmonary embolism (PE), and malignancy. Results The population-based cohort comprised 190,751 patients: 17,341 with AD and 173,410 healthy controls. IRs/100 patient-years were comparable between the AD cohort and healthy controls for VTE (0.14 [95% CI, 0.12-0.16] vs 0.11 [0.11-0.12]), DVT (0.08 [0.06-0.09] vs 0.06 [0.06-0.07]), and PE (0.06 [0.05-0.08] vs 0.05 [0.05-0.05]). The IR for VTE was higher in the AD cohort aged ≥65 years (0.71 [0.56-0.90]) versus age-matched controls (0.50 [0.46-0.54]). ASCVD risk factors were more frequent in patients with RA versus AD. IRs for malignancies and MACE were higher with specific ASCVD risk factors. Conclusions IRs of cardiovascular events were comparable in the AD cohort and general population. Risk of VTE, malignancy, and MACE were higher with specific ASCVD risk factors, underscoring the need for patient monitoring.…