Study: Cost of AD Care Higher in Low-Income Areas
Key Takeaways
Nation Eczema Association (NEA)-recommended moisturizers and soaps are more expensive than popular brands.
Pharmacy deserts in low-income neighborhoods limit access to essential AD treatments.
Disparities in -tore density, hours, and store stockpiles contribute to uneven AD care, according to researchers.
Recommended skin care products for atopic dermatitis (AD) were found to be more expensive and less accessible in lower-income neighborhoods, new research in the Journal of Drugs in Dermatology indicates.
"Pharmacy desert studies, which extend findings from the food desert literature, indicate that they are most prevalent in low-income and minority neighborhoods," the researchers wrote in the study. "Pharmacy deserts may also limit access to gentle skin care products since this is where they are often purchased. However, the association between gentle skin care affordability, availability, and access across city zip codes has not been examined."
The study focused on the accessibility and cost of commonly purchased skin care items available in major retailers including Amazon, Walmart, Walgreens, CVS, Target, and Meijer. The authors reported that moisturizing lotions and liquid body soaps recommended by the NEA cost more than twice as much as popularly purchased alternatives ($2.72/oz vs. $1.13/oz and $1.30/oz vs. $0.35/oz, respectively; P < 0.0001 for both). When looking at high- vs. low-income neighborhoods in Chicago and New York, the researchers found that lower-income areas lagged in several areas: there were fewer retail stores per capita (0.26 vs. 3.20 per 10,000 in Chicago; P = 0.0007 and 0.26 vs. 2.90 in New York; P = 0.02), reduced store operating hours (14.9 vs. 19.2 hours/day in Chicago; P = 0.02 and 13.3 vs. 21.0 hours/day in New York; P = 0.0002), and lower in-store product stock (2.0 vs. 5.1 units in Chicago; P = 0.05 and 1.4 vs 4.8 units in New York; P = 0.03).
"Recommended products are more expensive than popular products," the authors wrote. "Retail pharmacies selling these products are less prevalent in low-income neighborhoods, have fewer hours of operation, and have lower average stock, exacerbating AD disparities."
Source: Cardenas S, et al. J Drugs Dermatol. 2025. doi:10.36849/JDD.8911