Atopic Dermatitis Creates a Significant Burden on the Quality of Life of Adult Patients

Atopic dermatitis (AD) presents a significant humanistic burden on the quality of life among adult patients. Due to its public health impact and negative symptoms, the development for new and more effective treatments are necessary.

A study in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology utilized data from the 2013 US National Health and Wellness Survey, which allowed AD self-reports to be matched with non-AD controls and psoriasis controls. From this data, the burden outcomes were assessed between those with AD and the control groups.

The AD group and the psoriasis group were categorized into sub-groups based on the self-reported severity of the disease. The study used patient-reported outcomes to assess the mental health, health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in the previous 4 weeks, work productivity and activity impairment, and the indirect costs of AD.

Of the 352 individuals with AD collected in the research, 349 patients were matched with 698 non-AD controls, and 260 were matched with 260 psoriasis controls. Those with AD were found to have significantly greater rates of anxiety, depression, and sleep disorders, when compared with individuals without the disease. Furthermore, there was a significantly reduced HRQoL recorded for mental and physical domains for those with AD, when matched with non-AD participants.

The average annual indirect costs for employed subjects were about $2400 higher for patients with AD versus non-AD controls. Additionally, for all daily activities, the average rate of impairment was higher for the AD group.

“Against a benchmark of psoriasis, self-reported mood and sleep disorders and impairments in HRQoL, work productivity, and activities of daily living were similar for AD,” the authors explained. “It is notable, however, that a higher proportion of subjects with AD reported moderate or severe disease compared with subjects with psoriasis, potentially suggesting a relatively greater unmet clinical need among subjects with AD.”

The similarities of the patient-reported outcomes between patients with psoriasis and patients with AD reflected a comparable disease burden. New treatments are needed to reduce this negative burden of these diseases that can be debilitating for a patient’s quality of life.

“This study demonstrates the substantial and important impact of AD on mood and sleep, the mental and physical dimensions of HRQoL, and work productivity and everyday activity impairment in adults with AD,” the researchers concluded. “Moreover, disease burden in AD is comparable with that of psoriasis and suggests the need for more effective management of this condition.”