Comparing Pediatric Dermatology Research Funded by the US National Institutes of Health (NIH) With the US Skin Disease Burden in Patients Under 20 Years Old.

Abstract

Background: Disease burden, measured by disability-adjusted life years (DALYs), is a helpful metric to guide research funding priorities. Pediatric dermatologic conditions significantly contribute to DALYs, yet it is unclear whether NIH funding reflects this burden.

Objectives: To compare NIH-funded dermatology research with the most burdensome skin diseases in the United States for patients under 20 years old, as measured by DALYs, and to identify mismatches between funding and disease burden.

Methods: A cross-sectional analysis was independently performed by two researchers who matched projects from the 2024 to 2025 NIH Research Portfolio Online Reporting Tools with 10 pediatric dermatology skin conditions and their respective DALYs from the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) 2021 study. NIH-funded research projects were categorized by condition and pediatric focus, and funding allocation was compared to DALYs to evaluate alignment.

Results: The NIH supported 307 grants totaling $388 million across the 10 skin conditions. Atopic dermatitis received the most funding ($62.99 million), with 47.9% of grants pediatric-focused. Viral skin diseases, despite being second in burden, received only $2.35 million and 0 pediatric grants. Most conditions had fewer than 15% pediatric-focused grants.

Conclusions: There is a persistent mismatch between NIH funding and the burden of pediatric skin disease, both in overall funding and in the proportion of research focused on pediatric populations. Increased investment in high-burden, underfunded conditions, particularly those lacking pediatric-specific research, is essential.