Atopic Dermatitis is a Risk Factor for Rheumatoid Arthritis: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Abstract

BACKGROUND: It is still unclear whether patients with atopic dermatitis (AD) have an increased risk of developing rheumatoid arthritis (RA). OBJECTIVE: We aimed to investigate the association between AD and risk of RA using systematic review and meta-analysis. METHODS: We searched Medline and EMBASE up to April 2021 using search strategy, including terms for "atopic dermatitis" and "rheumatoid arthritis." Eligible cohort study must compare the incidence of RA between patients with AD and comparators without AD. Eligible case-control study must recruit cases with RA and controls without RA. Then, the study must compare the prevalence of AD between the groups. Point estimates with standard errors from each study were combined using the generic inverse variance method. RESULTS: The meta-analysis found that AD patients had a significantly higher risk of incident RA than individuals without AD with a pooled odds ratio (OR) of 1.30 (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.17-1.44; I2, 48%). Subgroup analysis revealed a significantly higher risk of RA in cohort study subgroup (pooled OR, 1.37; 95% CI, 1.25-1.50; I2, 63%) but not case-control study subgroup (pooled OR, 0.99; 95% CI, 0.77-1.28; I2, 10%). CONCLUSIONS: This study found a significantly higher risk of incident RA among AD patients.