Infraorbital fold in atopic dermatitis

An infraorbital fold (Dennie-Morgan fold) occurred in 74 (25%) of 300 patients with atopic dermatitis. Lower eyelid dermatitis was initially seen in 69 (23%) of these 300 patients. Of the 69 patients with lower eyelid dermatitis, 57 (83%) showed the infraorbital fold. However, such a fold was seen only in 17 (7%) of 231 patients who lacked lower eyelid dermatitis. An infraorbital fold also was observed in eight of 11 patients with contact dermatitis of the lower eyelid. Thus, it is likely that an infraorbital fold develops when the lower eyelid is affected with eczematous dermatoses of diverse origins. The frequent occurrence of an infraorbital fold in patients with atopic dermatitis may be caused by the fact that the eyelid is a site of predilection for this dermatitis.