Mapping risks of hospital-recorded health conditions in people with eczema

Atopic eczema may be associated with multiple health conditions. Here, we systematically explored risks across the full health spectrum based on the International Classification of Diseases, assessing associations between eczema and 2,058 ICD-10 codes, 1,593 phecodes, and 201 Global Burden of Disease codes. In English primary care electronic health records (1997−2023) we identified cohorts of people with eczema (up to 3 million) and compared to matched comparators (individuals without eczema (by age, sex, general practice) (up to 14 million). In up to 25 years of follow-up, we captured outcomes recorded during hospital admissions. People with eczema had higher rates of several outcomes across multiple organ systems. Among those followed up from eczema diagnosis in childhood, atopic/allergic conditions and infections accounted for most excess diagnoses. Besides skin and atopic/allergic outcomes, lymphomas, coeliac disease, inflammatory bowel conditions, and specific eye diseases had particularly large relative risk increases.