Adults with severe atopic eczema face an increased risk of dying from associated health issues, although the absolute risk of death from severe eczema is low, a UK study shows.

Using UK electronic healthcare records, researchers matched more than 526,000 adults with atopic eczema (including some 34,600 with severe eczema) to 2.5 million adults without the condition.

At baseline, participants’ median age was 42 years. They were followed for 4.5 years.

In the primary analysis, there was evidence of an association between atopic eczema and a 4% higher risk of dying from any cause compared with people without eczema, the authors reported in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology.