Strengths and limitations of the United Kingdom Working Party criteria for atopic dermatitis in adults

Background The United Kingdom Working Party’s (UKWP) criteria were developed to improve epidemiological research in atopic dermatitis (AD), but have not been validated in an exclusively adult European population. Objective To validate the UKWP criteria for AD in adults. Methods In this cross‐sectional study, three independent samples of adult individuals were drawn and interviewed: patients with a hospital diagnosis of AD or plaque psoriasis in adulthood, and general population controls. Various versions of the UKWP criteria for AD were utilized. Results A total of 3490 (general population), 3834 (AD) and 4016 (psoriasis) adult individuals were enrolled in the study. The best combination of the UKWP criteria leads to a sensitivity of 0.71 and a specificity of 0.96 in the general population. The criteria better captured ‘AD ever’ compared with ‘AD within the past 12 months’ and had a higher sensitivity in patients with moderate (87.2–97.7%) or severe (95.8–100%) AD at the time of interview compared with those who where asymptomatic (12.6–36.8%). The UKWP criteria also captured high proportions of psoriasis patients (19.7–47.7%) when applied in a cohort of unique psoriasis patients. Conclusions It remains a challenge to accurately diagnose a history of AD in adulthood since symptoms are shared with other skin conditions and AD may have resolved or can be waxing and waning, in turn leading to recall bias. The UKWP criteria performed well in the general population for the purpose of determining the prevalence, but should be used cautiously when studying comorbidity.