Quality of life in pediatric patients with atopic dermatitis

Objective: To measure the impact of atopic dermatitis (AD) on the quality of life of pediatric patients and their families, establishing correlations with scores of disease severity. Methods: This was an observational study of the correlations between clinical indicators of severity and two questionnaires on quality of life: IDQOL and DFI. The study also included scoring of eczema severity - EASI. Forty-two children with AD, fulfilling established diagnostic criteria, and 44 children with other dermatologic diseases were investigated for the effect of eczema on quality of life. Pearson's correlation was used for the correlation analysis and the comparison between the groups was carried out using the Mann-Whitney test. Results: Data analysis demonstrated significant differences between the scores for the two groups. The mean score in the eczema group was 9.2 (range 1-19) for IDQOL and 8.5 (range 0-17) for DFI. The highest scoring questions for IDQOL referred to itching and scratching, mood changes and problems caused by treatment. For the FDI, the highest impact domains were treatment-related expenditure and sleep disturbance affecting family members. Conclusions: AD has a negative impact on the quality of life of pediatric patients and their families. Data obtained in studies of quality of life in AD should be used to guide clinical practice in order to identify individual treatment strategies and should lead to the adoption of measures to reduce the impact of the disease on patients and their families.