Does daily bathing or showering worsen atopic dermatitis severity? A systematic review and meta-analysis

The optimal frequency of water bathing/showering in atopic dermatitis (AD) is unknown. We sought to determine the efficacy of different bathing/showering frequencies at improving AD severity. A systematic review and meta-analysis was performed of studies evaluating the clinical efficacy of bathing/showering regimen in AD. MEDLINE, EMBASE, SCOPUS, LILACS, Cochrane, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, Taiwan electronic periodical services and CiNii were searched. Two authors independently performed title/abstract and full-text review and data extraction. All 13 included studies were prospective and demonstrated numerically reduced AD severity in patients treated with a water bathing/showering regimen in ≥ 1 time-point compared with baseline. In random-effects regression models, baths/showers ≥ 7 vs.