November 07, 2025
2 min read
Key takeaways:
- Chronic hand eczema affects nearly one in 10 U.S. adults.
- Prevalence rates are highest among men, employed people, urban residents, those aged younger than 40 years and people who reported being multiple races.
Chronic hand eczema is now considered a “common” skin disease in the United States, according to results from the CHECK study presented at the 2025 Fall Clinical Dermatology Conference.
In a survey of more than 10,635 adults aged 18 to 69 years in the U.S, 9.6% of 982 respondents self-reported having a physician diagnosis of chronic hand eczema (CHE), a condition defined as hand eczema lasting 3 months or longer, or relapsing twice or more within a year.
Data derived from poster presentation.
The CHECK study was the first to attempt quantifying the prevalence of CHE in the U.S., according to Raj Chovatiya, MD, PhD, MSCI, clinical associate professor at Chicago Medical School at Rosalind Franklin University and founder and director of the Center for Medical Dermatology and Immunology Research.
Raj Chovatiya
“We now have compelling evidence that CHE is a common skin disease, affecting nearly one in 10 Americans,” Chovatiya told Healio. “The study also identifies who is most likely to have CHE.”
Results showed the prevalence of physician-diagnosed CHE was higher among men vs. women (10.5% vs. 8.7%; P < .01), employed vs. non-employed people (10.3% vs. 7.8%; P < .001), urban vs. rural residents (10.4% vs. 6.3%; P < .001), those aged 18 to 39 years vs. those aged 50 to 69 years (13.4% vs. 4.2%) and people who reported being of multiple races (11.6%).
Other results from the CHECK study showed that 65.1% of those reporting having CHE rated their disease as moderate to severe with the majority treated with either a systemic or topical treatment. Despite most patients receiving treatment, symptoms like itch, pain and sleep disturbances persisted at moderate levels for many participants, Chovatiya said.
CHE also impacted quality of life, with 43.6% of respondents reporting a change in their household and leisure activities, 20.4% reducing their work hours, 17.9% changing their work assignments, 15.2% changing their jobs and 0.2% entering early retirement. In a separate survey from the CHECK study, 51% of 192 health care professionals agreed that the current treatment options are insufficient for moderate to severe CHE.
“These data deepen our understanding of CHE and help us better quantify the broader social and economic burden of this debilitating disease, which has often been underrecognized to date,” Chovatiya told Healio. “The substantial negative impact of CHE on patients demonstrated from these studies emphasizes the importance of more treatment options to improve disease management.”
For more information:
Raj Chovatiya, MD, PhD, MSCI, can be reached on X: @RajMDPhD; LinkedIn: Raj Chovatiya, MD, PhD, MSCI.
Sources/Disclosures
Source:
Chovatiya R, et al. Prevalence of self-reported physician diagnosis of chronic hand eczema in adults: A cross-sectional study of more than 10,000 participants in the general population – Results from the CHECK study in the United States. Presented at: Fall Clinical Dermatology Conference; Oct. 23-26; Las Vegas.
References:
- Chovatiya R, et al. Chronic hand eczema treatment burden: Results from a survey of dermatology healthcare professionals. Presented at: Fall Clinical Dermatology Conference; Oct. 23-26; Las Vegas.
- Chovatiya R, et al. Self-reported disease severity, symptoms, and treatment of chronic hand Eczema – Results from the CHECK study in the United States. Presented at: Fall Clinical Dermatology Conference; Oct. 23-26; Las Vegas.
- Chovatiya R, et al. The impact of chronic hand eczema on occupation, work productivity, and activity impairment – Results from the CHECK study in the United States. Presented at: Fall Clinical Dermatology Conference; Oct. 23-26; Las Vegas.
Disclosures:
Chovatiya has financial relationships with AbbVie, Acelyrin, Alumis, Amgen, AnaptysBio, Apogee Therapeutics, Arcutis Biotherapeutics Inc., Argenx, Astria Therapeutics Inc., Avalere Health, Beiersdorf, Boehringer Ingelheim, Bristol Myers Squibb, Cara Therapeutics, Castle Biosciences, Celldex Therapeutics Inc., CLn Skin Care, Dermavant, Eli Lilly and Company, EMD Serono, Formation Bio, Forte Biosciences, Galderma, Genentech, GSK, Incyte, Inmagene Bio Inc., Johnson & Johnson, Kenvue, Leo Pharma, L’Oréal, Nektar Therapeutics, Nia Health, Novartis, Opsidio, Organon, Pfizer Inc., RAPT, Regeneron, Sanofi, Sitryx, Takeda, TRex Bio, UCB and Zai Lab.
Ask a clinical question and tap into Healio AI’s knowledge base.
- PubMed, enrolling/recruiting trials, guidelines
- Clinical Guidance, Healio CME, FDA news
- Healio’s exclusive daily news coverage of clinical data
