Healthcare Service Utilization and Medication Use in 128,239 Children with Atopic Dermatitis in Israel—A Cross-Sectional Case-Control Study
Abstract
1. Introduction
2. Materials and Methods
2.1. Setting and Data Sources
2.2. Study Population and Matching Process
2.3. Outcome Assessment
2.4. Severity
- At least two months of topical corticosteroid use.
- At least one month of topical calcineurin inhibitor/topical PDE4 inhibitor.
- At least one course of phototherapy treatment.
2.5. Statistical Analysis
3. Results
3.1. Characteristics of the Study Population
3.2. Healthcare Service Utilization
3.3. Medication Use
4. Discussion
Supplementary Materials
Author Contributions
Funding
Institutional Review Board Statement
Informed Consent Statement
Data Availability Statement
Conflicts of Interest
References
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AD (n = 128,239) n (%) | Controls (n = 128,239) n (%) | |
---|---|---|
Age, years, mean (SD) | 9.7 (4.9) | 9.7 (4.9) |
0–4 | 23,073 (18.0) | 23,073 (18.0) |
5–9 | 38,940 (30.4) | 38,940 (30.4) |
10–14 | 38,562 (30.1) | 38,562 (30.1) |
15–18 | 27,664 (21.6) | 27,664 (21.6) |
Sex | ||
Females | 60,835 (47.4) | 60,835 (47.4) |
BMI, mean (SD) | 21.6 (73.1) | 21.7 (81.3) |
Ethnicity | ||
Arabs | 27,494 (21.4) | 27,494 (21.4) |
Orthodox Jewish | 9687 (7.6) | 9687 (7.6) |
Jewish | 90,691 (70.7) | 90,691 (70.7) |
Other | 367 (0.3) | 367 (0.3) |
Socioeconomic status | ||
Low | 46,695 (36.8) | 46,695 (36.8) |
Medium | 65,682 (51.8) | 65,682 (51.8) |
High | 14,518 (11.4) | 14,518 (11.4) |
Severity AD | ||
Mild | 114,676 (89.4) | NA |
Moderate | 13,019 (10) | NA |
Severe | 544 (0.42) | NA |
AD (n = 128,239) | Controls (n = 128,239) | AD (n = 128,239) | Controls (n = 128,239) | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Mean Visits (SD) | Mean Visits (SD) | n (%) | n (%) | OR (CI 95%) | |
Community services | |||||
GPC clinic visits | 1.8 (3.3) | 1.5 (2.9) | 61,787 (48.2) | 56,293 (43.9) | 1.2 (1.2–1.2) |
Pediatric clinic visits | 4.8 (5.8) | 3.8 (5.0) | 96,659 (75.4) | 89,824 (70.0) | 1.3 (1.3–1.3) |
Internal medicine clinic visits | 0.03 (0.25) | 0.03 (0.23) | 33,927 (26.5) | 27,764 (21.7) | 1.3 (1.3–1.3) |
Dermatologist clinic visits | 0.5 (0.9) | 0.2 (0.6) | 3346 (2.6) | 2730 (2.1) | 1.2 (1.2–1.3) |
Allergist clinic visits | 0.05 (0.43) | 0.02 (0.25) | 41,564 (32.4) | 18,545 (14.5) | 2.8 (2.8–2.9) |
Otolaryngologist clinic visits | 0.21 (0.63) | 0.15 (0.53) | 23,852 (18.6) | 19,209 (15.0) | 1.3 (1.3–1.3) |
Pulmonologist clinic visits | 0.02 (0.19) | 0.01 (0.13) | 4176 (3.3) | 1528 (1.2) | 2.8) 2.6–3.0) |
Ophthalmologist visits clinic visits | 0.23 (0.57) | 0.18 (0.49) | 18,088 (14.1) | 13,787 (10.8) | 1.4 (1.3–1.4) |
In- and out-patient services | |||||
Number of hospitalization days | 0.13 (2.29) | 0.13 (2.43) | NA | NA | NA |
Emergency room visits | 0.20 (0.54) | 0.17 (0.49) | 19,441 (15.2) | 16,815 (13.1) | 1.2 (1.2–1.2) |
Number of hospital visits | 0.037 (0.265) | 0.033 (0.267) | 3812 (3.0) | 3309 (2.6) | 1.2 (1.1–1.2) |
AD (n = 128,239) n (%) | Controls (n = 128,239) n (%) | OR (CI 95%) | p-Value | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Topical treatments | ||||
Topical calcineurin inhibitors | 3271 (2.6) | 164 (0.1) | 20.4 (17.5–23.9) | <0.001 |
Topical PDE4 inhibitors | 1303 (1.02) | 50 (0.04) | 26.3 (19.8–34.9) | <0.001 |
Topical corticosteroids | 32,726 (25.5) | 12,138 (9.5) | 3.3 (3.2–3.4) | <0.001 |
Phototherapy | 222 (0.17) | 31 (0.02) | 7.2 (4.9–10.4) | <0.001 |
Systemic treatments | ||||
Antihistamines | 27,670 (21.6) | 15,726 (12.3) | 2.0 (1.9–2.0) | <0.001 |
Immunosuppressive drugs | 144 (0.11) | 78 (0.06) | 1.8 (1.4–2.4) | <0.001 |
Biologic drugs | 410 (0.32) | 12 (0.01) | 34.3 (19.3–60.9) | <0.001 |
JAK inhibitors | 34 (0.03) | 2 (0.002) | 17.0 (4.1–70.8) | <0.001 |
Systemic corticosteroids | 11,062 (8.6) | 8300 (6.5) | 1.4 (1.3–1.4) | <0.001 |
Age | 0–4 Years n (%) | 5–9 Years n (%) | 10–14 Years n (%) | 15–18 Years n (%) | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
AD | Controls | AD | Controls | AD | Controls | AD | Controls | |
Immunosuppressive drugs | 15 (0.07) | 8 (0.03) | 36 (0.09) | 15 (0.04) | 49 (0.13) | 29 (0.08) | 44 (0.2) | 26 (0.1) |
Biologic drugs a | 79 (0.34) | 2 (0.01) | 135 (0.35) | 6 (0.02) | 111(0.3) | 2 (0.01) | 85 (0.3) | 2 (0.01) |
JAK inhibitors | 1 (0.004) | 0 | 1 (0.003) | 0 | 18 (0.05) | 0 (0.0) | 14 (0.1) | 2 (0.01) |
Mild AD (n = 114,676) | Moderate AD (n = 13,019) | Severe AD (n = 544) | |
---|---|---|---|
Topical treatments | |||
Topical corticosteroids | 20,298 (17.7) | 12,053 (92.6) | 375 (68.9) |
Topical calcineurin inhibitors | 0 | 3082 (23.7) | 189 (34.7) |
Topical PDE4 inhibitors | 0 | 1248 (9.6) | 55 (10.1) |
Phototherapy | 0 | 196 (1.5) | 26 (4.8) |
Systemic treatments | |||
Systemic corticosteroids | 8623 (7.5) | 2315 (17.8) | 124 (22.8) |
Immunosuppressive drugs | 0 | 0 | 144 (26.5) |
Biologic drugs a | 0 | 0 | 410 (75.4) |
JAK inhibitors | 0 | 0 | 34 (6.3) |
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Cohen, N.T.; Iton-Schwartz, A.; Comaneshter, D.; Valdman-Grinshpoun, Y. Healthcare Service Utilization and Medication Use in 128,239 Children with Atopic Dermatitis in Israel—A Cross-Sectional Case-Control Study. J. Clin. Med. 2025, 14, 6402. https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm14186402
Cohen NT, Iton-Schwartz A, Comaneshter D, Valdman-Grinshpoun Y. Healthcare Service Utilization and Medication Use in 128,239 Children with Atopic Dermatitis in Israel—A Cross-Sectional Case-Control Study. Journal of Clinical Medicine. 2025; 14(18):6402. https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm14186402
Chicago/Turabian StyleCohen, Naama Tova, Amit Iton-Schwartz, Doron Comaneshter, and Yulia Valdman-Grinshpoun. 2025. "Healthcare Service Utilization and Medication Use in 128,239 Children with Atopic Dermatitis in Israel—A Cross-Sectional Case-Control Study" Journal of Clinical Medicine 14, no. 18: 6402. https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm14186402
APA StyleCohen, N. T., Iton-Schwartz, A., Comaneshter, D., & Valdman-Grinshpoun, Y. (2025). Healthcare Service Utilization and Medication Use in 128,239 Children with Atopic Dermatitis in Israel—A Cross-Sectional Case-Control Study. Journal of Clinical Medicine, 14(18), 6402. https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm14186402