Disease-specific impairment of the quality of life in adult patients with chronic spontaneous urticaria

Background/Aims: Chronic urticaria (CU) is a common skin disorder characterized by wheals and pruritus lasting more than 6 weeks. Due to its long duration and changeable symptoms, the quality of life (QOL) of patients with CU can be impaired substantially. We evaluated the CU-QOL, a previously validated CU-specific QOL measure, and investigated factors influencing QOL in chronic spontaneous urticaria (CSU) patients. Methods: A hospital-based cross-sectional study was performed on 390 adult patients diagnosed with CSU from March 2009 to December 2012 at the Allergy and Clinical Immunology Clinic at Ajou University Hospital. The CU-QOL questionnaire, urticaria activity score (UAS), combined angioedema, and serum total immunoglobulin E (IgE) levels were investigated. Results: The average CU-QOL score obtained from the questionnaire was 70.6 (of 100 points). The CU-QOL scores correlated significantly with the UAS, particularly with the 15-point UAS (UAS-15; coefficient -0.532, p < 0.01) rather than the 6-point UAS (-0.502, p < 0.01). The patients presenting with angioedema and urticaria had poorer scores in the urticaria symptom domain than those with urticaria alone (37.4 vs. 46.9, p = 0.004). Log-transformed serum total IgE levels correlated significantly with CU-QOL (-0.131, p < 0.05). Multivariate regression models indicated that severe CU (UAS-15 score >= 13), log (total IgE), and the presence of angioedema were significant predictors of impaired CU-QOL (< 85 points). Conclusions: CU has a substantial negative impact on QOL. The assessment of UAS-15, total IgE, and the presence of angioedema can be useful to predict QOL of the patients with CSU.