Sleep disturbances in adults with eczema are associated with impaired overall health: A US population-based study

Sleep disturbances are associated with poor health outcomes in adults. However, little is known about the sleep disturbances that occur in adult eczema. We studied the association between adult eczema and sleep disturbance and their impact on overall health and health care utilization. We used the 2012 National Health Interview Survey, a cross-sectional questionnaire of 34,613 adults. Eczema was associated with higher odds of fatigue (odds ratio (95% confidence interval): 2.97 (2.65-3.34)), regular daytime sleepiness (2.66 (2.34-3.01)), and regular insomnia (2.36 (2.11-2.64)), even after controlling for sleep duration, history of allergic disease, sociodemographics, and body mass index. There were significant interactions between eczema and fatigue, sleepiness, and insomnia as predictors of poorer overall health status, number of sick days, and doctor visits, such that eczema and each of the sleep symptoms were associated with higher odds of poorer outcomes than either eczema or sleep symptoms alone. Latent class analysis was used and identified five classes of fatigue, sleep disturbances, and allergic disorders. Two classes had high probabilities of eczema: one with high probabilities of asthma, hay fever, food allergy, and multiple sleep symptoms and the other with intermediate probability of insomnia alone. Future studies are warranted to better characterize sleep loss in eczema and develop strategies for treatment and prevention.