Correlation between quality of life and disease severity of pediatric patients with atopic dermatitis

Abstract

Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a complex, chronic skin disorder with a broad spectrum of clinical aspects, characterized by abnormal skin barrier function. This has a significant impact on patients' quality of life (QoL), which represents a crucial parameter for their wellbeing. This study assessed the QoL of patients with AD by following parameters such as itching, disturbance of sleep, disturbance of play activity, and community activities. The study included 64 patients clinically diagnosed with AD, aged 0 to 16 years. QoL of patients with AD was measured by evaluating the QoL indices for infants and young children (IDQoL-Infants' Dermatitis Quality of Life Index) and the QoL for children over 4 years (CDQoL-Children's Dermatology Life Quality Index). The severity of the disease was also monitored by evaluating the SCORAD index. The major symptom for atopic dermatitis, pruritus, was found most frequently in our study and influenced patients' QoL. The study showed that the above questionnaires are efficient tools for correlating AD severity with QoL even in younger patients and could be included in current guidelines. This is the first study that analyzed the QoL of pediatric patients with atopic dermatitis in Romania and can constitute the basis for elaborating a more comprehensive disease management guidelines.

Quality of life in children with atopic dermatitis seen in the department of dermatology at the university hospital, Antananarivo Madagascar

“…Hence, AD had a significant impact on their QoL. Similar results were also reported in Romania 2 and Denmark. 3 Furthermore, the impairment of parents’ QoL was highly correlated to the severity of AD in infants aged <5 years.…”

Atopic Dermatitis in Latin America: A Roadmap to Address Data Collection, Knowledge Gaps, and Challenges

“…Some studies in Colombia, Argentina, and Brazil evaluated the impact of AD on QoL, according to multiple scales (Skindex, Dermatology Life Quality Index, Infants' Dermatitis Quality of Life Index, Dermatitis Family Impact Questionnaire) 67–70 . In line with the global findings, 63 these studies unanimously agree that QoL and disease activity are correlated.…”

Similarities and Differences in the Perception of Atopic Dermatitis Burden Between Patients, Caregivers, and Independent Physicians (AD-GAP Survey)

“…A previous study similarly identified emotional distress and sleep disturbance as the most reported QoL subdomains (after itching/scratching) in pediatric patients with AD aged 0–16 years [ 32 ]. Other studies have reported the highest impact of AD to be on school/holidays, itch, and free time/hobbies (for patients aged 5–9 years) or school/holidays, friendships, and either itch or free time/hobbies (for patients aged 10–16 years) [ 33 , 34 ].…”