Impact of climate variability on hospital visits for atopic dermatitis among children and adolescents in Brasilia, Brazil

OBJECTIVE: To investigate whether there is a correlation between variation in climatic elements and the number of exacerbations of atopic dermatitis in children and adolescents. METHOD: retrospective study, carried out between January 2014 and December 2020, when children and adolescents diagnosed with atopic dermatitis were accepted into the study and divided into group 1 (only 1 exacerbation during the study period) and group 2 (2 or more exacerbations in the same period). After basic statistical analysis of the study data, logistic regression was performed to evaluate which climatic factor was associated with the variation in the number of visits due to exacerbation of atopic dermatitis and a ROC curve was created to determine the best value of that discriminating factor for the occurrence of exacerbation. RESULTS: The sample consisted of 220 patients, 55.5% in group 1 and 44.5% in group 2, who presented a total of 298 consultations for exacerbation of atopic dermatitis. The highest frequency of consultations occurred in winter, between June and August (106/298 - 53.5%). CONCLUSION: Relative air humidity, when below 44.18%, was the factor that most contributed to the occurrence of exacerbation due to dermatitis compared to other climatic factors.