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Review
. 2021 Apr;9(4):1488-1500.
doi: 10.1016/j.jaip.2020.12.007. Epub 2020 Dec 13.

Sleep Disturbances and Atopic Dermatitis: Relationships, Methods for Assessment, and Therapies

Fatima Bawany  1 , Carrie A Northcott  2 , Lisa A Beck  3 , Wilfred R Pigeon  4
Affiliations
Review

Sleep Disturbances and Atopic Dermatitis: Relationships, Methods for Assessment, and Therapies

Fatima Bawany et al. J Allergy Clin Immunol Pract. 2021 Apr.

Abstract

Atopic dermatitis is one of the most common chronic inflammatory skin conditions and is associated with sleep disturbances in 47% to 80% of children and 33% to 90% of adults. Herein, we review the literature on sleep disturbances experienced by patients with atopic dermatitis, as well as the mechanisms that may underlie this. We present subjective and objective methods for measuring sleep quantity and quality and discuss strategies for management. Unfortunately, the literature on this topic remains sparse, with most studies evaluating sleep as a secondary outcome using subjective measures. The development of portable, at-home methods for more objective measures offers new opportunities to better evaluate sleep disturbances in atopic dermatitis research studies and in clinical practice.

Keywords: Atopic dermatitis; Insomnia; Pruritus; Sleep; Type 2 immunity.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflicts of interest: C. A. Northcott is an employee of Pfizer, Inc, and owns company stock. L. A. Beck is a consultant for Abbvie, AI/Benevolent, Allakos, Astra-Zeneca, Galderma, Incyte, LEO Pharma, Lilly, Naos Bioderma, Novartis, Pfizer, PrincipiaBio, Regeneron, Sanofi, UCB, and Vimalan; is or has been an investigator on Abbvie, LEO Pharma, Pfizer, and Regeneron atopic dermatitis trials; and owns stock in Moderna, Gilead, and Medtronic. W. R. Pigeon has consulted for Curaegis Technologies and is an employee of the US Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). F. Bawany has no relevant conflicts of interest. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the US government, the National Institutes of Health, or the VA.

Figures

FIGURE 1.
FIGURE 1.
The large semicircular arrows reflect the macro-level bidirectional between sleep and AD. The large interior box reflects the putative mechanisms both driving the sleep-AD relationship and driven by current status of both sleep and AD. The individual putative mechanism boxes reflect evidence suggesting that each of these mechanisms may themselves have bidirectional relationships with each other.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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