WHEP Scholar Victoria Ricles
Drexel University College of Medicine, Class of 2024

Atopic dermatitis (AD) is an inflammatory skin disease affecting more than 9.6 million children in the United States, with half of individuals developing AD within their first year of life and 95% by 5 years of age. Disease course is variable but tends to be chronic and relapsing, significantly impacting quality of life for children while taking an emotional and financial toll on their families.

Increased research into AD epidemiology has been conducted within the last decade, and these studies have shown AD is 1.7 times more common in Black children, with 19.3% of Black children developing AD compared to 16.1% of white and 7.8% of Asian children. Furthermore, African-American individuals who develop AD have a higher prevalence of moderate-to-severe disease, often present with more treatment-resistant disease, have increased rates of allergic comorbidities and overall have greater AD-related impact on their quality of life. These racial discrepancies in AD prevalence and outcomes were initially attributed to both genetic and environmental factors, yet studies show genetic factors may play less of a role in disease course than initially thought.

My thesis paper aims to explore the social and environmental factors contributing to disparities in the diagnosis, management and disease outcomes in African-American pediatric atopic dermatitis patients. Furthermore, my research explores how quality of life along with physical, mental and emotional health may be impacted in pediatric African-American AD patients and suggests interventions that can be implemented on both a small- and large-scale basis to help decrease racial gaps in timely diagnosis, proper patient education and adverse mental health outcomes.