Atopic Dermatitis Across the Lifespan: Mechanisms, Comorbidities, and Clinical Care

Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a chronic, relapsing inflammatory skin disease that affects individuals across all stages of life, presenting with distinct clinical phenotypes and varying impacts on quality of life. While traditionally characterized as a childhood disorder, AD is now recognized to frequently persist into or begin in adulthood even in old age, presenting unique pathophysiological mechanisms and clinical challenges.

The disease burden extends beyond the skin, as AD is often the initial step of the “atopic march,” leading to the development of other allergic conditions, such as asthma, allergic rhinitis, and food allergies. Furthermore, emerging evidence highlights significant associations with neuropsychiatric, cardiovascular, and autoimmune comorbidities, suggesting a complex, systemic inflammatory nature within AD. Understanding the lifelong trajectory of AD—from its genetic and environmental origins through evolving immune dysregulation and barrier dysfunction to its broader systemic implications—is critical for advancing patient care and developing targeted interventions.

This Research Topic aims to provide a comprehensive, multidisciplinary platform to explore the dynamic nature of AD and advance our understanding of it as a dynamic and systemic disorder at every stage of life. We seek to highlight studies that dissect disease mechanisms, delineate age-dependent and systemic clinical features, and present innovative multidisciplinary approaches to prevention, management, and care. We encourage submissions that investigate the age-specific immunological signatures, the role of the skin and gut microbiome, the impact of environmental exposures, and the biological pathways linking AD to its comorbid conditions. Additionally, we welcome studies focusing on novel therapeutic strategies, personalized medicine approaches, patient-reported outcomes, and healthcare disparities across different age groups and populations.

To gather further insights, we welcome articles addressing, but not limited to, the following themes:
1. Developmental Origins and Early Life
• Prenatal and early-life determinants of AD onset and progression
• Age-specific immunological signatures and shifts in immune polarization
2. Systemic Mechanisms and Comorbidities
• Mechanistic links between epithelial barrier dysfunction and sequential development of allergic comorbidities.
• Biological pathways underlying AD-associated conditions, including neuropsychiatric (e.g., ADHD, depression), cardiovascular, and autoimmune comorbidities
• The role of the skin and gut microbiome in disease pathogenesis
• Impact of environmental exposures on disease trajectory
3. Precision Medicine and Therapeutics
• Biomarkers for disease prediction, phenotyping, endotyping, and treatment response
• Lifespan-tailored pharmacologic strategies and non-pharmacologic interventions
• Real-world evidence on long-term effectiveness and safety of systemic therapies
4. Patient-Centered Outcomes and Healthcare Delivery
• Impact of AD on quality of life, mental health, and socioeconomic factors across different life stages
• Healthcare disparities across diverse age groups and populations
• Innovations in digital health, patient education, and multidisciplinary care models

Article types and fees

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Brief Research Report
• Case Report
• Clinical Trial
• Editorial
• FAIR² Data
• General Commentary
• Hypothesis and Theory
• Methods
• Mini Review
• ... View all formats

Articles that are accepted for publication by our external editors following rigorous peer review incur a publishing fee charged to Authors, institutions, or funders.

Article types

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Brief Research Report
• Case Report
• Clinical Trial
• Editorial
• FAIR² Data
• General Commentary
• Hypothesis and Theory
• Methods
• Mini Review
• Opinion
• Original Research
• Perspective
• Review
• Systematic Review

Keywords: Atopic Dermatitis, Atopic March, Systemic Comorbidities, Lifespan Trajectory, Precision Medicine

Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.