Adult atopic dermatitis (AD) patients with sleep disorders had higher levels of the inflammatory biomarker C-reactive protein (CRP), as well as a higher risk of developing adverse cardiovascular outcomes and mortality, results from a large cohort analysis showed.
"The implications of these findings are vast," presenting author Varsha Parthasarathy said during a late-breaking abstract session at the Revolutionizing Atopic Dermatitis virtual symposium. "Poor sleep quality is known to be associated with increased inflammatory markers such as IL-6, IL-17, and CRP, so it is interesting to see this reflected in AD patients with versus without sleep disturbance. Additionally, we know that CRP is a driver of inflammation and is strongly associated with cardiovascular complications such as heart attack and stroke. Therefore, CRP may be a useful prognostic marker in AD patients with sleep disturbances."
To examine the comorbidity burden of sleep disorders in AD patients and associate findings with inflammatory CRP and cardiovascular comorbidities, Parthasarathy, a medical student and itch fellow in the department of dermatology at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, and colleagues drew from TriNetXa healthcare network of approximately 73 million de-identified medical records in 53 organizations. The years of study were 2015 to 2021.
