Adults With Atopic Dermatitis Have Greater Likelihood of Developing AMD

Habitual eye rubbing in patients with AD may have an impact by triggering chronic minor trauma on the retina. Photo: Jambula/Wikimedia Commons. Click image to enlarge.  Rates of atopic dermatitis (AD) are fairly high, with estimates that about 10% of adults globally may be affected. The inflammatory skin condition can cause systemic inflammation, complement activation and increased oxidative stress—all factors involved in the pathogenesis of AMD, but research on retinal disease rates in patients with AD remains limited. So, in a recent study, Taiwanese researchers sought to investigate the link between the two conditions using data from two large nationwide databases—TriNetX Research Network and Taiwan’s National Health Insurance Research Database (NHIRD). They found a significantly elevated risk of AMD in adults with AD in both cohorts. Results were recently published in the Retina journal.In the TriNetX analysis (46,018 patients with AD aged 50 years and older spanning 2005 through 2021), patients with AD in the white and Black subgroups showed that AD was linked to an increased risk of both dry (hazard ratio, HR 1.99) and wet AMD (HR 1.82). It should be noted though that Asian subjects accounted for less than 5% of the population in this group. The authors then analyzed data from the NHIRD, which is mostly of an Asian population, and demonstrated a higher risk of dry AMD (HR 1.26), but not wet AMD (HR 1.08).Notably, in the NHIRD cohort (9,513 patients with AD aged 50 years and old years spanning 2003 through 2017), a significantly higher risk of AMD was found specifically in individuals with predominantly active AD. In the TriNetX cohort, no increased risk was observed in those receiving dupliumab or JAK inhibitors, which the authors suggest may be due to the anti-inflammatory properties of the medications.In addition to the role of systemic inflammation, the researchers suggested that eye rubbing, which is common in AD patients, can also have a potential impact by inducing mechanical trauma.According to the researchers, these findings emphasize the importance of regular funduscopic evaluations and proactive AMD management in adults with AD and highlight the need for collaborative efforts between dermatologists and optometrists to enable the early detection of AMD.Click here for the journal source. Chen T-L, Tsai H-R, Chang W-C, et al. Risk of age-related macular degeneration in late-onset atopic dermatitis: a multi-database cohort analysis. Retina. July 28, 2025. [Epub ahead of print.]  This article was developed by the editorial staff in conjunction with experts in the field. In the process, AI may have been among the editorial tools used to meet the goals of human editors, who approved all content.