Children with atopic dermatitis more likely to have chronic school absenteeism

Chronic school and work absenteeism is more common in children with atopic dermatitis and their caregivers than in those with psoriasis, according to a study.

“Childhood AD and/or psoriasis are associated with worse quality of life, sleep disturbance, neuropsychiatric comorbidity, cutaneous and extracutaneous infections,” Brian T. Cheng, BA, and Jonathan I. Silverberg, MD, PhD, MPH, wrote in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology. “These may contribute to school absence. However, the association of AD and psoriasis with school absenteeism is not fully elucidated.”

Data from the 1999-2015 Medical Expenditure Panel Surveys, a cross-sectional, population-based study of health status and function, were analyzed and included information on 124,267 children, adolescents and young adults, with 3,123 having AD and 200 having psoriasis.

A total of 308 young children (80.4%), 616 children (73.8%), 505 adolescents (64.2%) and 115 young adults (42.7%) missed at least 1 day of school due to their AD. Of those with psoriasis 12 young children (81.4%), 34 children (70.5%), 36 adolescents (67.1%) and 15 young adults (44.9%) missed at least 1 day of school.

Chronic absenteeism, described as missing 15 or more school days per year, was more common in AD, with an increase in chronic absenteeism with more severe disease.

Chronic absenteeism was not linked to psoriasis, however.

Both mothers and fathers of children with AD also missed a higher number of workdays than the general population.

“Chronic absenteeism may have significant long-term effects on children’s development and academic trajectory,” the authors wrote. “Childhood AD has significant consequences for caregivers, resulting in missed work to care for their child’s health needs.”