Trends in the Epidemiology and Treatment of Atopic Dermatitis in the United Kingdom (UK)

May 19, 2025 updated by: Momentum Data

The Epidemiology of Atopic Dermatitis, Associated Comorbidities, and Treatment Patterns in the United Kingdom (UK)

Atopic dermatitis (AD), commonly called eczema, is one of the most frequently occurring skin conditions. It is estimated to affect around one fifth of children in developed countries and is also becoming increasingly common in less developed countries. Exact estimates of how common eczema is, vary considerably and there has not been an in-depth analysis of the number of people with eczema in the UK. It is also unclear which groups of people are most affected and which treatment options are being used.

Most people with eczema are managed by their general practitioner (GP) with only a few people requiring specialist care. GP records therefore provide an excellent opportunity to explore how common eczema is and which treatments are being used currently.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

Objective

The study aims to describe the health care resource utilisation of patients with active AD in terms of prescription use, primary care appointments, and specialist referrals.

Method This study will define AD cases using a previously validated algorithm for case identification use clinical codes form primary care in the UK (Read codes). The study will analyse a cohort of prevalent active AD cases over a one year period (2018). The annual use of topical and oral medications used for the treatment of AD, primary care appointments, and specialist referrals will be reported.

Study Type

Observational

Enrollment (Actual)

148166

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Child
  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Sampling Method

Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

Adults and children with atopic dermatitis identified from routinely collected healthcare records using a validated algorithm.

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • All paediatric and adult patients registered with an Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) Research and Surveillance Centre (RSC) contributing GP practice during the study period (2008-2018) and with at least one year of follow-up.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • The presence of psoriasis, photodermatitis, or ichthyosis

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

Cohorts and Interventions

Group / Cohort
Intervention / Treatment
Active atopic dermatitis
People fulfilling the diagnostic criteria for active atopic dermatitis during the calendar year 2018, and meeting the inclusion criteria and registered with one of the study practices for one or more years during the study period.
Other: No intervention
Observational analysis of usual care only

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Prescription Rates for Atopic Dermatitis Related Treatments: Emollients and Soap Substitutes
Time Frame: Jan - Dec 2018 inclusive
Proportion of the arm/group receiving at least one prescription for emollients and soap substitutes.
Jan - Dec 2018 inclusive
Prescription Rates for Atopic Dermatitis Related Treatments: Mild Topical Corticosteroids (TCS)
Time Frame: Jan - Dec 2018 inclusive
Proportion of the arm/group receiving at least one prescription for mild topical corticosteroids (atopic dermatitis related treatment)
Jan - Dec 2018 inclusive
Prescription Rates for Atopic Dermatitis Related Treatments: Moderate Topical Corticosteroids (TCS)
Time Frame: Jan - Dec 2018 inclusive
Proportion of the arm/group receiving at least one prescription for moderate topical corticosteroids (an atopic dermatitis related treatment)
Jan - Dec 2018 inclusive
Prescription Rates for Atopic Dermatitis Related Treatments: Potent Topical Corticosteroids (TCS)
Time Frame: Jan - Dec 2018 inclusive
Proportion of the arm/group receiving at least one prescription for potent topical corticosteroids (an atopic dermatitis related treatment)
Jan - Dec 2018 inclusive
Prescription Rates for Atopic Dermatitis Related Treatments: Very Potent Topical Corticosteroids (TCS)
Time Frame: Jan - Dec 2018 inclusive
Proportion of the arm/group receiving at least one prescription for very potent topical corticosteroid (an atopic dermatitis related treatment)
Jan - Dec 2018 inclusive
Prescription Rates for Atopic Dermatitis Related Treatments: Topical Calcineurin Inhibitors (TCI)
Time Frame: Jan - Dec 2018 inclusive
Proportion of the arm/group receiving at least one prescription for a topical Calcineurin Inhibitor (an atopic dermatitis related treatment)
Jan - Dec 2018 inclusive
Prescription Rates for Atopic Dermatitis Related Treatments: Topical Antimicrobials
Time Frame: Jan - Dec 2018 inclusive
Proportion of the arm/group receiving at least one prescription for topical antimicrobials.
Jan - Dec 2018 inclusive
Prescription Rates for Atopic Dermatitis Related Treatments: Antihistamin
Time Frame: Jan - Dec 2018 inclusive
Proportion of the arm/group receiving at least one prescription for antihistamin.
Jan - Dec 2018 inclusive
Prescription Rates for Atopic Dermatitis Related Treatments: Systemic Immuno-modulatory Therapy
Time Frame: Jan - Dec 2018 inclusive
Proportion of the arm/group receiving at least one prescription for Systemic immuno-modulatory therapy
Jan - Dec 2018 inclusive
Prescription Rates for Atopic Dermatitis Related Treatments: Oral Corticosteroids
Time Frame: Jan - Dec 2018 inclusive
Proportion of the arm/group receiving at least one prescription for oral corticosteroids
Jan - Dec 2018 inclusive
Specialist Referrals
Time Frame: Jan - Dec 2018 inclusive
Specialist dermatology referral rate in 2018
Jan - Dec 2018 inclusive
Primary Care Referrals
Time Frame: Jan - Dec 2018 inclusive
Annual rate of primary care consultations in 2018
Jan - Dec 2018 inclusive

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Time to occurrence of moderate atopic dermatitis
Time Frame: Models will be devised using data from 2008-2018
The impact of sociodemographic predictors on time to first occurrence of moderate atopic dermatitis
Models will be devised using data from 2008-2018
Time to occurrence of severe atopic dermatitis
Time Frame: Models will be devised using data from 2008-2018
The impact of sociodemographic predictors on time to first occurrence of severe atopic dermatitis
Models will be devised using data from 2008-2018
Time to recurrence of active atopic dermatitis
Time Frame: Models will be devised using data from 2008-2018
The impact of sociodemographic predictors on time to first recurrence of atopic dermatitis in those with inactive disease
Models will be devised using data from 2008-2018

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Momentum Data

Collaborators

Pfizer
Oxford Royal College of General Practitioners Research and Surveillance Centre

Investigators

  • Study Director: Andrew McGovern, MD, Momentum Data Ltd

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

February 1, 2019

Primary Completion (Actual)

November 4, 2020

Study Completion (Actual)

November 4, 2020

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

January 17, 2019

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

January 28, 2019

First Posted (Actual)

January 30, 2019

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

June 6, 2025

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

May 19, 2025

Last Verified

January 1, 2025

More Information

Terms related to this study

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • P002

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

YES

IPD Plan Description

All individual patient data (IPD) can be made available to bone fide researchers subject to appropriate checks and approvals made by Momentum Data, the RCGP RSC, and the University of Surrey and subject to the completion of information governance training.

IPD Sharing Time Frame

There is no pre-specified time-frame for data availability; this will be considered on an individual basis for each request.

IPD Sharing Access Criteria

As above

IPD Sharing Supporting Information Type

  • STUDY_PROTOCOL

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

Subscribe