Correlation between quality of life and disease severity of pediatric patients with atopic dermatitis

Abstract

Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a complex, chronic skin disorder with a broad spectrum of clinical aspects, characterized by abnormal skin barrier function. This has a significant impact on patients' quality of life (QoL), which represents a crucial parameter for their wellbeing. This study assessed the QoL of patients with AD by following parameters such as itching, disturbance of sleep, disturbance of play activity, and community activities. The study included 64 patients clinically diagnosed with AD, aged 0 to 16 years. QoL of patients with AD was measured by evaluating the QoL indices for infants and young children (IDQoL-Infants' Dermatitis Quality of Life Index) and the QoL for children over 4 years (CDQoL-Children's Dermatology Life Quality Index). The severity of the disease was also monitored by evaluating the SCORAD index. The major symptom for atopic dermatitis, pruritus, was found most frequently in our study and influenced patients' QoL. The study showed that the above questionnaires are efficient tools for correlating AD severity with QoL even in younger patients and could be included in current guidelines. This is the first study that analyzed the QoL of pediatric patients with atopic dermatitis in Romania and can constitute the basis for elaborating a more comprehensive disease management guidelines.