Eczema Facts

The National Eczema Association (NEA) is a nonprofit, 501(c)(3) organization that works to improve the health and quality of life of those affected by eczema. One of our goals is to raise eczema awareness to help everyone see the impact of this skin disease on patients and families, while also working to reduce stigma and build compassion. To support these awareness efforts, we have compiled key statistics and facts about eczema to educate the public about eczema’s prevalence, risk factors and impact on daily life. We hope this research-backed data helps support informed discussions on eczema.

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How Common is Eczema?

Global prevalence: Eczema affects approximately 10% to 20% of children and 2% to 10% of adults worldwide.^1,2

United States: In the U.S., around 31.6 million people (roughly 10% of the population) have some form of eczema.^3–5

Seborrheic dermatitis: The global prevalence of seborrheic dermatitis is 4.38%, with a higher prevalence in adults than children.⁶

Chronic hand eczema: The lifetime prevalence of chronic hand eczema has been estimated to be 14.5% of the general population.⁷

Atopic dermatitis: Atopic dermatitis is the most common form of eczema. It is estimated that 16.5 million adults in the U.S. have atopic dermatitis, with 6.6 million meeting criteria for moderate to severe disease.⁸ Approximately 9.6 million U.S. children under the age of 18 have atopic dermatitis, and one-third have moderate to severe disease.³

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Who is Most at Risk for Atopic Dermatitis, the Most Common Type of Eczema?

Race and ethnicity: People of all skin colors, races and ethnicities can be affected by atopic dermatitis. In the U.S., children with atopic dermatitis who are African American/Black are more likely to have atopic dermatitis, and tend to have more severe disease than white children.^9,10

Age: 80% of individuals affected by atopic dermatitis experience disease onset prior to 6 years of age.¹¹ But atopic dermatitis is not solely a disease of childhood onset; 1 in 4 adults report adult-onset of symptoms, and nearly 40% are affected with moderate to severe disease.^8,12,13

Genetics: Individuals with a family history of eczema, asthma or allergies have a higher risk of developing atopic dermatitis.^14,15

Environment: Pollution, climate and exposure to irritants can increase the likelihood of developing atopic dermatitis.¹⁶ Children who live in an urban environment have a higher risk for prolonged disease.^17,18

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What Do We Know About Atopic Dermatitis Symptoms and Severity?

• Itch is the most burdensome symptom of atopic dermatitis, followed by skin redness and sleep loss.¹⁹

• 60.5% of adults with moderate to severe atopic dermatitis have reported severe or unbearable itch in the past two weeks, 86% reported daily itch and 63% reported itching at least 12 hours per day.²⁰

• During an atopic dermatitis flare, itch and redness are increased. Flare frequency, duration and average severity increases with disease severity.²¹

• Skin pain is another symptom of atopic dermatitis, with 61% of affected adults experiencing pain. This pain is most often reported as a burning sensation, but can also feel like tingling or stinging. Pain is sometimes associated with excessive scratching, but can also exist separately. ^22–25

• More than 55% of adults with moderate to severe atopic dermatitis report inadequate disease control.^19,26,27

• Even when treatments are available, over 50% of adults with atopic dermatitis still face concerns about long-term use, and over 50% have found a treatment to be ineffective.¹⁹

• Compared to the time of symptom onset, nearly half (48%) of atopic dermatitis patients report that at the present time, symptom severity has worsened. Nearly two-thirds (64%) report that more areas or different areas are affected; 49% indicate that the frequency of flares is worse than at onset.¹⁹

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How Does Atopic Dermatitis Impact Quality of Life?

• Atopic dermatitis is the leading contributor to skin-related disability and ranks 15th among all non-fatal diseases globally.¹

• Half of patients with moderate to severe atopic dermatitis indicate that it significantly limits their lifestyle; nearly 35% of those with mild atopic dermatitis also experience some lifestyle limitations.²⁸

• The impact of atopic dermatitis on caregivers is comparable to that of adult atopic dermatitis patients, with over 50% reporting a high or significant impact in the last month.¹⁹

• Nearly one-third of adults with atopic dermatitis have experienced challenges in school or their work life, and 14% of adults believe their academic and/or career progression have been hindered by atopic dermatitis.²⁹

• One in three adults with atopic dermatitis and their partners have reported that eczema interfered with establishing relationships and their sexual health.³⁰

• Children with severe atopic dermatitis have fewer friends and spend more time alone than children with moderate atopic dermatitis.³¹ Between 20% to 40% of school-aged children and teens with atopic dermatitis experience bullying because of their disease.^32,33

• Bathing and treatment regimens, coordinating with insurance and with doctors for medical appointments, and purchasing treatments for atopic dermatitis all place time and financial demands on families.^31,34–36

• Parents and caregivers of children with atopic dermatitis report feeling embarrassed about their child’s appearance as well as frustration, helplessness, sadness and guilt, due to their child’s disease.³¹

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What Do We Know About Atopic Dermatitis and Related Health Conditions?

Sleep: Sleep disturbances are common, occurring in 67% of children with atopic dermatitis.³⁷. Many (15% to 30%) adults with atopic dermatitis rate sleep disturbance as the “most” or “second-most” burdensome symptom.^19,28,38,39

Atopic conditions: Children with atopic dermatitis often develop other atopic conditions like food allergy, allergic rhinitis and asthma — known as the atopic march. Classically, the atopic march begins with atopic dermatitis and progresses to food allergy, asthma and allergic rhinitis.⁴⁰. However, there can be variations in the trajectory of these conditions.⁴¹

Asthma: Around one-quarter of people with atopic dermatitis have asthma, compared to only 8% of those without atopic dermatitis.⁴²

Mental health conditions: Atopic dermatitis’s negative impact on mental health ranks greater than that for patients with heart disease, diabetes and high blood pressure.²⁸ Two-thirds of people with atopic dermatitis believe their mental health is negatively impacted by their atopic dermatitis.⁴³

Depression: Adults with atopic dermatitis have a 2.5 to 3-fold higher risk for anxiety or depression, and children with atopic dermatitis are two to six times more likely to have depression or anxiety than children without atopic dermatitis.^8,44–46

ADHD: Children with atopic dermatitis are more likely to be diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and other conduct disorders.^47–50

Other health conditions: Atopic dermatitis in adults is associated with other chronic conditions that contribute to poor health including diabetes, obesity, autoimmune disease, high blood pressure, heart disease, skin infections and ocular conditions.^48,51–53

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What Are the Impacts of Atopic Dermatitis on Income, Work and School?

• Nearly 5.9 million work days annually are lost due to atopic dermatitis. Adults with atopic dermatitis take, on average, 11 days off of work per year for their disease.³²

• Of children with atopic dermatitis, 67.7% are absent from school more than 1 day per year due to their illness, and 3.9% missed over 15 days. Parents of children with atopic dermatitis also experience decreased work productivity and missed work days related to their child’s atopic dermatitis severity.^9,54

• People with atopic dermatitis have higher overall work impairment compared to non-affected coworkers. Approximately 15% of the work day can be impacted by disease flares.⁵⁵ This impact is higher for more severe atopic dermatitis.⁵⁶

• People with atopic dermatitis have increased healthcare utilization compared to those without atopic dermatitis including:
  • More outpatient doctor visits — which were even higher for those with moderate to severe atopic dermatitis^57–59
  • More visits to urgent/emergency care⁶⁰

• People with atopic dermatitis report a median annual out-of-pocket cost for disease management of $600. However, 42% of individuals spend $1,000 or more, and 8.5% report spending $5,000 or more.^63,64

• Inpatient costs for atopic dermatitis reach nearly $8.3 million per year for adults and more than $3.3 million per year for children.⁶⁵

• The annual economic burden of atopic dermatitis, including direct medical costs, indirect costs from lack of productivity and quality of life impacts is conservatively estimated at $5.3 billion.⁶⁶

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NEA has its own research team dedicated to eczema. Our in-house team of scientists are actively conducting research to directly address gaps in the understanding of the lived experience of eczema.

Learn more about the research we do and get involved