Association Between Obesity, Abdominal Obesity, and Adiposity and the Prevalence of Atopic Dermatitis in Young Korean Adults: the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2008-2010.

OBJECTIVE

Whether obesity is a risk factor for atopic dermatitis (AD) remains unclear. The aim of the present study was to investigate the association between obesity and AD in Korean young adults.

METHODS

We included nationally representative data of 5,202 Korean adults aged 19-40 years, obtained from the cross-sectional Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2008-2010.

RESULTS

Single (unmarried) status was more frequently observed in AD patients (male, [P=0.0002] and female, [P<0.0001]). AD prevalence exhibited a U-shape trend in relation to body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC), and total body fat (BF) percentage, especially in young adult women. Women with BMI ≥25 kg/m², WC ≥80 cm, and highest quartile (Q4) of total BF percentage had the highest prevalence of AD. The odds ratio (OR) for participants with both BMI ≥25 kg/m² and WC ≥80 cm was 3.29 (95% confidence interval [CI] 1.71-3.55); therefore, having both general and abdominal obesity was considered a prominent risk factor for AD in young women. After adjustment for confounding factors, including age, smoking, alcohol drinking, exercise, vitamin D, income level, and single status, high BMI (≥30 kg/m²) (OR=4.08, 95% CI: 1.53-10.93), high WC (≥80 cm) (OR=2.05, 95% CI: 1.07-3.94), and high BF percentage (Q4) (OR=2.10, 95% CI: 1.24-3.57) were shown to be significantly associated with AD in young adult women.

CONCLUSIONS

In this large-scale nation-wide study of Korean adults, obesity was positively related to the presence of AD in women. Our findings suggest that weight management may help prevent AD.