Association of atopic dermatitis with an increased risk of systemic lupus erythematosus

Context: Previous studies on the association between atopic dermatitis (AD) and systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) have yielded inconsistent results. Aims: To investigate the relationship between atopic dermatitis and systemic lupus erythematosus. Settings and Design: Systematic review and meta-analysis. Materials and Methods: A systematic review was conducted on EMBASE and MEDLINE databases from inception to March 2020 using a search strategy that consisted of terms related to AD and SLE. Eligible study must be either cohort or case-control study. For cohort studies, they must include patients with AD and comparators without AD, then follow them for incident SLE. For case-control studies, they must include cases with SLE and controls without SLE and examine their prior history of AD. Statistical Analysis Used: Meta-analysis of the studies was performed using a random-effect, generic inverse variance method to combine effect estimate and standard error. Funnel plot was used to assess publication bias. Results: A total of 21,486 articles were retrieved. After two rounds of review by three investigators, six case-control studies were qualified for the meta-analysis. The case-control study meta-analysis found a significantly increased odds of SLE among patients with AD with the pooled odds ratio of 1.46 (95% CI, 1.05–2.04). Conclusions: A significant association between AD and increased odds of SLE was observed by this systematic review and meta-analysis.