Atopic dermatitis and psychological disorders in children and adolescents: a systematic review on comorbidities and mechanism
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a chronic inflammatory skin disease characterized by eczematous lesions and intense pruritus. Its increasing global prevalence poses substantial physical and psychosocial challenges for children and adolescents, particularly adolescents in the developmental stage of identity formation. Given the paucity of exclusive adolescent studies, this review focuses on adolescents while integrating evidence from child-adolescent mixed samples to synthesize comorbidity patterns and mechanisms. METHODS: This systematic review was conducted in accordance with the PRISMA 2020 guidelines. Three electronic databases (PubMed, CNKI and PsycINFO) were searched to identify relevant studies published from the inception of each database to October 1st, 2025. Snowball search was performed by reviewing references of included studies and relevant systematic reviews/meta-analyses to avoid missing eligible literature. 66 studies were included in total, with 36 epidemiological studies summarized. Among the 36 studies, 9 (25.0%) focused exclusively on adolescents (10–19 years old), and 27 (75.0%) were mixed-age studies including children (≤9 years) and adolescents. These studies focused on the association between AD and psychiatric conditions, covering various psychiatric comorbidities including anxiety, depression, sleep disorders, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), autism spectrum disorder (ASD), and suicide-related behaviors. RESULTS: Epidemiological…
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