Pain severity and use of analgesic medication in adults with atopic dermatitis: a cross-sectional study

Background Adult patients with atopic dermatitis (AD) report skin pain, but the relationship with disease severity, anatomical location and use of pain medication is unclear. Objectives To examine pain in adults with AD. Methods We performed a cross-sectional study of nationwide healthcare data and survey data from the Danish Skin Cohort. In total, 3208 randomly selected adults from the general population and 3834 adults with a dermatologist-verified diagnosis of AD present in adulthood were included. Patient-Oriented SCORing Atopic Dermatitis determined AD severity, and numerical rating scales estimated the severity of pruritus and skin pain. Complete information on the use of analgesic medication was obtained from the Danish nationwide prescription registry. Results Respectively, 6 center dot 8%, 55 center dot 5%, 34 center dot 0% and 3 center dot 7% of the AD cohort reported that they were asymptomatic, or had mild, moderate or severe disease at the time of assessment. Skin pain was positively associated with AD severity and itch. Higher skin pain scores were observed in plantar, chest and palmar areas. Use of pain medication was not increased in patients with AD. Conclusions Patients with AD did not display increased use of pain medication, but few had severe disease. The close relationship observed between itch and pain highlights the potential benefits of established AD treatments to also reduce skin pain in AD.