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Disease burden of atopic dermatitis comparable to psoriasis
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Patients with atopic dermatitis had health-related quality of life and productivity impairment that was comparable to patients with psoriasis, according to recently published study results in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology.
Joel M. Gelfand, MD, of the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, and colleagues used data from the U.S. National Health and Wellness Survey to propensity-match patients with atopic dermatitis (AD) with control groups of patients without AD and patients with psoriasis.
The study included 349 patients with AD, who were matched with 698 non-AD controls. In addition, 260 patients with AD were matched with 260 patients with psoriasis. There were comparable baseline characteristics and demographics between the cohorts.
Patients with AD experienced significantly higher rates of anxiety (29.8%), depression (31.2%) and sleep disorders (33.2%) when compared with the non-AD control group (16.1%, 17.3% and 19.2%, respectively; all P < .001).
Short Form-36 v2 mental component summary score (44.5 vs. 18; P < .001), physical component summary score (47.6 vs. 49.5%; P = .0041), health utilities (0.67 vs. 0.72, P < .001) were lower in the AD cohort compared with the non-AD controls. Work absenteeism rate (9.9% vs. 3.6%, P < .001) and activity impairment rate (33.6% vs. 25.2%, P < .001) were higher in the AD cohort compared with the non-AD controls.
Similar impairment of health-related quality of life and productivity were seen in a comparison of the 260 patients with AD and the patients with psoriasis.
“This real-world survey of adults with and without a self-reported diagnosis of AD has revealed the extent of the humanistic burden that is associated with AD,” the researchers wrote.
“This study demonstrates the substantial and important impact of AD on mood and sleep, the mental and physical dimensions of [health-related quality of life], 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.” – by Bruce Thiel
Disclosure: The study was supported by Sanofi and Regeneron Pharmaceuticals. Gelfand reports being an employee of the University of Pennsylvania Perlman School of Medicine, which has received research funding from Sanofi/Regeneron Pharmaceuticals. Gelfand reported serving as a consultant for AbbVie, AstraZeneca, Celgene Corp, Coherus, Eli Lilly, Janssen Biologics, Sanofi, Merck, Novartis Corp, Valeant and Pfizer in the previous 12 months. He reported receiving research grants (to the trustees of the University of Pennsylvania) from AbbVie, Eli Lilly, Janssen, Novartis Corp, Regeneron, Sanofi and Pfizer and reporting payment for CE work related to psoriasis. Gelfand also reported that he is a co-patent holder of Resiquimod for treating cutaneous T-cell lymphoma. Please see the full study for a listing of the other researchers’ relevant financial disclosures.