Abstract

Background

Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a chronic pruritic inflammatory skin condition. Patients often report experiencing cutaneous deterioration associated with certain points of their menstrual cycle. Despite this, the literature surrounding this topic remains sparse. This review aims to summarise and compare recent publications surrounding the association between the different stages of the menstrual cycle and exacerbations of atopic dermatitis.

Methods

A literature review was conducted as per PRISMA guidelines using Ovid Medline, Embase, Cochrane Library, PubMed and Web of Science. Search terms and variations on these terms included: menstruation, eczema and atopic dermatitis. A minimum of 2 authors independently screened each abstract and reviewed the full-texts for inclusion.

Results

A total of 16 studies were included. All articles consistently acknowledged premenstrual deterioration in control of atopic dermatitis, typically occurring in the week prior to menstruation.

Conclusion

Our results highlight that the premenstrual exacerbation of AD is a well-recognised phenomenon, typically occurring in the week prior to menstruation. Existing studies are of a low quality and we identified minimal evidence on treatment strategies for premenstrual AD exacerbations. Further large-scale studies are needed to explore treatment options for these patients, such as hormonal therapies.

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