# The Role of the Environment and Exposome in Atopic Dermatitis

## TL;DR

This review explores how environmental factors, or the exposome, influence the development and progression of atopic dermatitis.

## Contribution

The paper emphasizes the importance of exposure timing and dosage in modulating atopic dermatitis pathogenesis.

## Key findings

- Environmental exposures like climate change and air pollution interact with genetic and immune factors in AD.
- Diet, stress, and microbiome alterations significantly impact AD at the individual level.
- Timing and dosage of exposures can either worsen or improve disease outcomes in atopic dermatitis.

## Abstract

Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a chronic inflammatory skin disorder affecting up to 20% of children and up to 5% of adults worldwide, contributing to significant disease-related morbidity in this patient cohort. Its aetiopathogenesis is underpinned by multiple factors, including genetic susceptibility, skin barrier defects, a skewed cutaneous immune response and microbiome perturbation in both the skin and the gut. In this review, we aim to examine the biological effects of key environmental exposures (the sum of which is termed the “exposome”) at the population, community and individual levels in order to describe their effect on AD pathogenesis.

It is now understood that as well as considering the type of environmental exposure with regard to its effect on AD pathogenesis, the dosage and timing of the exposure are both critical domains that may lead to either exacerbation or amelioration of disease. In this review, we consider the effects of population-wide exposures such as climate change, migration and urbanization; community-specific exposures such as air pollution, water hardness and allergic sensitisation; and individual factors such as diet, microbiome alteration, psychosocial stress and the impact of topical and systemic therapy.

This review summarises the interaction of the above environmental factors with the other domains of AD pathogenesis, namely, the inherent genetic defects, the skin barrier, the immune system and the cutaneous and gut microbiota. We specifically emphasise the timing and dosage of exposures and its effect on the cellular and molecular pathways implicated in AD.