The humanistic burden of atopic dermatitis in Greece: a cross-sectional study


Submitted: 9 October 2024
Accepted: 4 March 2025
Published: 9 April 2025
Abstract Views: 158
PDF: 93
Publisher's note
All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

Authors

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the quality of life (QoL) and psychosocial burden in adult Greek patients with atopic dermatitis (AD) using validated tools and to investigate factors that influence AD’s humanistic burden. This observational, cross-sectional study was conducted in Greece (January-September 2023) with 150 adult members of the patient association “EPIDERMIA”, all diagnosed with AD. Data was collected via a structured questionnaire, including socio-demographic details, clinical history, AD severity (using the Patient-Oriented Eczema Measure [POEM]), QoL, sleep disorders, and psychological health. Based on POEM scores, 11% of participants had clear/almost clear skin, 27% had mild eczema, 51% had moderate eczema, and 12% had severe/very severe eczema. AD had a moderate or very/extremely large impact on QoL for 29% and 42% of participants, respectively. Insomnia affected 55%, while 31% had mild anxiety, 23% had moderate/severe anxiety, 10% had moderate depression, and 8% had moderately severe/severe depression. AD severity was associated with reduced QoL and higher rates of insomnia, anxiety, and depression. Our study highlights significant associations between AD severity, QoL, and psychosocial factors, emphasizing the need for comprehensive management strategies.


Torres T, Ferreira EO, Gonçalo M, et al. Update on atopic dermatitis. Acta Med Port 2019;32:606-13. DOI: https://doi.org/10.20344/amp.11963

Cabanillas B, Brehler AC, Novak N. Atopic dermatitis phenotypes and the need for personalized medicine. Curr Opin Allergy Clin Immunol 2017;17:309-15. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1097/ACI.0000000000000376

Barbarot S, Auziere S, Gadkari A, et al. Epidemiology of atopic dermatitis in adults: Results from an international survey. Allergy 2018;73:1284-93. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/all.13401

Stefanou G, Gregoriou S, Kontodimas S, et al. Prevalence of adult self-reported atopic dermatitis in greece: Results from a nationwide survey. Eur J Dermatol 2022;32:597-606. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1684/ejd.2022.4335

Birdi G, Cooke R, Knibb RC. Impact of atopic dermatitis on quality of life in adults: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Int J Dermatol 2020;59:e75-e91. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/ijd.14763

Achten R, Van der Rijst L, Piena M, et al. Economic and humanistic burden in paediatric patients with atopic dermatitis. Acta Derm Venereol 2023;103:adv00881. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2340/actadv.v103.4842

Gregoriou S, Stefanou G, Kontodimas S, et al. Burden of atopic dermatitis in adults in greece: Results from a nationwide survey. J Clin Med 2022;11. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm11164777

Girolomoni G, Luger T, Nosbaum A, et al. The economic and psychosocial comorbidity burden among adults with moderate-to-severe atopic dermatitis in europe: Analysis of a cross-sectional survey. Dermatol Ther 2021;11:117-30. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13555-020-00459-8

Jeon C, Yan D, Nakamura M, et al. Frequency and management of sleep disturbance in adults with atopic dermatitis: A systematic review. Dermatol Ther 2017;7:349-64. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13555-017-0192-3

Kelsay K. Management of sleep disturbance associated with atopic dermatitis. J Allergy Clin Immunol 2006;118:198-201. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaci.2006.04.038

Sibbald C, Drucker AM. Patient burden of atopic dermatitis. Dermatol Clin 2017;35:303-16. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.det.2017.02.004

Brunner PM, Silverberg JI, Guttman-Yassky E, et al. Increasing comorbidities suggest that atopic dermatitis is a systemic disorder. J Invest Dermatol 2017;137:18-25. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jid.2016.08.022

Schünemann HJ, Reinap M, Piggott T, et al. The ecosystem of health decision making: From fragmentation to synergy. Lancet Public Health 2022;7:e378-e90. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S2468-2667(22)00057-3

Charman CR, Venn AJ, Ravenscroft JC, et al. Translating patient-oriented eczema measure (poem) scores into clinical practice by suggesting severity strata derived using anchor-based methods. Br J Dermatol 2013;169:1326-32. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/bjd.12590

Finlay AY, Khan GK. Dermatology life quality index (dlqi)--a simple practical measure for routine clinical use. Clin Exp Dermatol 1994;19:210-6. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2230.1994.tb01167.x

Soldatos CR, Dikeos DG, Paparrigopoulos TJ. The diagnostic validity of the athens insomnia scale. J Psychosom Res 2003;55:263-7. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0022-3999(02)00604-9

Soldatos CR, Dikeos DG, Paparrigopoulos TJ. Athens insomnia scale: Validation of an instrument based on icd-10 criteria. J Psychosom Res 2000;48:555-60. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0022-3999(00)00095-7

Eleftheriou A, Rokou A, Arvaniti A, et al. Sleep quality and mental health of medical students in greece during the covid-19 pandemic. Front Public Health 2021;9:775374. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2021.775374

Kroenke K, Spitzer RL, Williams JB. The phq-9: Validity of a brief depression severity measure. J Gen Intern Med 2001;16:606-13. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1525-1497.2001.016009606.x

Kroenke K, Spitzer RL, Williams JB, et al. Anxiety disorders in primary care: Prevalence, impairment, comorbidity, and detection. Ann Intern Med 2007;146:317-25. DOI: https://doi.org/10.7326/0003-4819-146-5-200703060-00004

Silverberg JI, Gelfand JM, Margolis DJ, et al. Patient burden and quality of life in atopic dermatitis in us adults: A population-based cross-sectional study. Ann Allergy Asthma Immunol 2018;121:340-7. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.anai.2018.07.006

Lugovic-Mihic L, Mestrovic-Stefekov J, Fercek I, et al. Atopic dermatitis severity, patient perception of the disease, and personality characteristics: How are they related to quality of life? Life (Basel) 2021;11. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/life11121434

Chiesa Fuxench ZC, Block JK, Boguniewicz M, et al. Atopic dermatitis in america study: A cross-sectional study examining the prevalence and disease burden of atopic dermatitis in the us adult population. J Invest Dermatol 2019;139:583-90. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jid.2018.08.028

Bacci ED, Correll JR, Pierce EJ, et al. Burden of adult atopic dermatitis and unmet needs with existing therapies. J Dermatolog Treat 2023;34:2202288. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/09546634.2023.2202288

Alomayri W, Alanazi N, Faraj F. Correlation between atopic dermatitis and sleep quality among adults in saudi arabia. Cureus 2020;12:e12051. DOI: https://doi.org/10.7759/cureus.12051

Salfi F, Amicucci G, Ferrara M, et al. The role of insomnia in the vulnerability to depressive and anxiety symptoms in atopic dermatitis adult patients. Arch Dermatol Res 2023;315:1577-82. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00403-023-02538-0

Ratley G, Zeldin J, Chaudhary PP, et al. The circadian metabolome of atopic dermatitis. The J Allergy Clin Immunol 2024. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaci.2023.11.926

Silverberg JI, Gelfand JM, Margolis DJ, et al. Measurement properties of the hospital anxiety and depression scale used in atopic dermatitis in adults. J Invest Dermatol 2019;139:1388-91. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jid.2018.11.029

Supporting Agencies

The project described in this article was supported by a grant from Pfizer Global Medical Grants.

Kourlaba, G., Lioliou, K., Stefanou, G., Koukopoulou, S., Vamvakousis, E., & Ioannides, D. (2025). The humanistic burden of atopic dermatitis in Greece: a cross-sectional study. Dermatology Reports. https://doi.org/10.4081/dr.2025.10164

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Citations