Body balance reduces eczema in stress-related atopic dermatitis

Anna Utterström, Solbritt Lonne-Rahm^*

Department of Medicine, Karolinska University Hospital, Solna, Stockholm, Sweden.

DOI: 10.4236/health.2009.14047                

Abstract

Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a common chronic, pruritic, relapsing inflammatory skin disease that affects about two to three percent of the adult population in Sweden. It is characterized by dry, itchy skin and is aggravated by stress. This study examined if relaxation through movement and body awareness can reduce stress and eczema in patients with AD. Nine pa-tients with atopic dermatitis whose condition worsened due to stress were treated with a body balance relaxation method. Estimation of extent of skin lesions, pruritus, salivary cortisol, as an objective marker for chronic stress, and subjective stress, and DLQI, were performed. Of these parameters, the extent of skin lesions, pruritus, and the subjective stress were de-creased as well as chronic stress. This study indicated that relaxation using body balance reduced stress and eczema in patients with stress-related atopic dermatitis.

Keywords

Atopic Dermatitis; Body Balance; Eczema; Relaxation; Stress.

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

References

[1]	Schmied, C. and Saurat, J.H. (1991) Epidemiology of atopic eczema. In: Ruzicka T, Ring J, Przybilla B, eds. Handbook of Atopic Eczema., 9-14.
[2]	Leung, D.Y.M. and Bieber, T. (2003) Atopic dermatitis. The Lancet, 361, 151-60.
[3]	Croner, S., (1991) Atopic dermatitis-epidemiology. Pedi-atr Allergy Immunol, 2 (Suppl): 6-7.
[4]	Hanifin, J.M. and Rajka, G. (1980) Diagnostic features of atopic dermatitis. Acta Derm Venereol (Stockh), 92(suppl.), 44-7.
[5]	Morren, M.A., Przybilla, B., Bamelis, M., Heykants, B., Reynaers, A. and Degreef, H. (1994) Atopic dermatitis: triggering factors. J Am Acad Dermatol, 31, 467-73.
[6]	Teshima, H., Kubo, C., Kihara, H., Imada, Y., Nagata, S., Ago, Y. and Ikemi, Y. (1982) Psychosomatic aspects of skin diseases from the standpoint of immunology. Psy-chother Psychosom., 37, 165-75.
[7]	Schachner, L., Field, T., Hernandez-Reif, M., Duarte, A. and Krasnegor, J. (1998) Atopic dermatitis symptoms decreased in children following massage therapy. Pediat Dermatol, 15, 390-95
[8]	Anderson, C., Lis-Balchin, M. and Kirk-Smith., M. (2000) Evaluation of massage with essential oils on childhood atopic eczema. Phytother Res, 14, 452-56.
[9]	Lange, S., Zschocke, I. and Amon, U. (1999) Augustin. Effects of combined dermatological and behavioral medi-cine therapy in hospitalized patients with psoriasis and atopic dermatitis. Hautarzt, 50, 791-97.
[10]	Ljung, T., Andersson, B., Bengtsson, B.A., Bj?rntorp, P. and M?rin, P. (1996) Inhibition of cortisol secretion by dexamethasone in relation to body fat distribution: a dose-response study. Obes Res, 4, 277-82.
[11]	Zachariae, R., Zachariae, C., Ibsen, H., Mortensen, J. T. and Wulf, H. C. (2000) Dermatology life quality index: data from Danish inpatients and outpatients. Acta Derm Venereol (Stockh), 80, 272-76.
[12]	Buske-Kirschbaum, Geiben, A. and Hellhammer, D. (2001) Psychobiological aspects of atopic dermatitis: an overview. Psychother Psychosom, 70, 6-16.