Skin Barrier Function and Cognition among Older Adults

Abstract

Age-associated declines in skin barrier function result in increased exposure to cutaneous microbes and toxins and result in chronic, low-grade systemic inflammation.(Hu et al., 2017) Chronic inflammation is now thought to be an important mechanism in the onset and progression of dementia and multiple chronic inflammatory states have been associated with subsequent cognitive impairment.(Heppner et al., 2015, Wen et al., 2022) Epidemiologic studies of eczema (aka atopic dermatitis) support the rationale for investigating skin barrier decline and cognition: eczema is a pathogenic example of skin barrier dysfunction, eczema severity has been associated with cognitive function,(Silverberg et al., 2020) and moderate-to-severe eczema among older adults has been associated with an increased risk of dementia in multiple longitudinal studies.(Eriksson et al., 2008, Magyari et al., 2019, Pan et al., 2021) Our objective was to examine the association between skin barrier function as measured by water loss and tape stripping and cognition.