Atopic dermatitis is associated with hidradenitis suppurativa diagnosis: A single institution retrospective cohort study

Background Hidradenitis suppurativa (HS) and atopic dermatitis (AD) are both chronic inflammatory skin diseases. An association between these 2 conditions can have important potential implications for elucidating pathogenesis, disease course, and treatment. Objective To investigate the association between AD and HS. Methods We performed a retrospective cohort study of patients seen at Duke University Medical Center from 2007 to 2017 who had AD compared with a control group without an AD diagnosis. The association of AD and HS was evaluated using a logistic regression model after adjusting for other confounders including age, sex, and race. Results Of 28,780 patients with an AD diagnosis, 325 (1.1%) were diagnosed with HS compared with 76 (0.2%) within the 48,383 patients in the non-AD group. An adjusted logistic regression model demonstrated an increased odds ratio of having HS diagnosis in the AD group as compared with the control non-AD group (odds ratio: 5.57, 95% confidence interval: 4.30-7.21, P  Limitations This was a retrospective study performed at a single institution with the possibility of surveillance bias being present. Conclusions Patients with AD are more likely to be diagnosed with HS than patients without AD. Further research is needed to understand the pathophysiologic mechanism and potential treatment implications.