The impact of atopic dermatitis on health-related quality of life in Taiwan

Abstract

Background/purpose: Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a common skin disease. At present, there is little evidence regarding its impact on patients' health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in Taiwan. Therefore, this study investigated the relationship between AD severity and patients' HRQoL in Taiwan.

Methods: Patients with AD were recruited from three hospitals in Taiwan from April 2018 to April 2019. AD severity was measured using the Scoring of AD (SCORAD) scale, and HRQoL was assessed using the Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI) and the five-level version of EuroQol five-dimension questionnaire (EQ-5D-5L).

Results: A total of 200 patients (mean age: 34.4 years) were recruited, including 103 males and 97 females. They were further classified as 79 mild, 72 moderate, and 58 severe AD patients according to their SCORAD scores. There was a positive correlation between their SCORAD and DLQI scores (Spearman's r = 0.77, p < 0.001). Patients with severe AD had higher scores in all the DLQI questions, particularly the symptoms, feelings, and work/school. In addition, both the EQ-5D visual analogue scale (VAS) scores and utility index values were negatively correlated with the SCORAD scores (Spearman's r = -0.46 and -0.60, respectively, both p < 0.001). Patients with higher AD severity had more problems with mobility, usual activity, pain/discomfort, and anxiety/depression, while demographic characteristics did not significantly affect HRQoL.

Conclusion: Higher AD severity is associated with poorer HRQoL in Taiwanese AD patients, with AD's effects on symptoms, feelings, and work/school being the most troublesome. Meanwhile, demographic factors did not affect HRQoL significantly.

Keywords: Atopic dermatitis; Atopy; Quality of life.