Publication details
Quality of life in adults with atopic dermatitis in the Czech Republic
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| Year of publication | 2017 |
| Type | Conference abstract |
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| Description | Introduction: Atopic dermatitis (AD) is associated with considerable detriment to quality of life (QoL), affecting all areas of everyday living, physical, and emotional well-being. QoL impairment also include the patient’s family. Aim of the study is evaluation of QoL in adults and their family members/partners in the Czech Republic, which has never been done yet. Material/methods: Study population: Patients with atopic dermatitis >18 years of age (n=128), 76 women (59.4%) and 52 men (40.6%). Evaluation of QoL – questionnaires used in our study: The Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI) – a disease-specific questionnaire The Brief Illness Perception Questionnaire (B-IPQ) – a general health-related QoL questionnaire The Family Dermatology Life Quality Index (FDLQI) – a questionnaire for family members/partners of the patient for evaluating secondary burdens of skin diseases Results: The DLQI total score: 15.15 (± 6.46). The worst is DLQI-1 considering symptoms and feelings: 2.21 (± 0.74). The least impact is in DLQI-9 considering sexual difficulties: 0.53 (± 0.83). The B-IPQ total score: 57.99 (± 10.83). The poorest is B-IPQ 2 considering timeline/duration of illness: 8.06 (± 2.09). The least impact is in B-IPQ-4 considering the treatment controll: 3.20 (± 2.45). The FDLQI total score: 10.30 (± 6.10). The questionnaire was filled mostly by partner/husband/wife by a total of 121 persons (94.5%). The worst is FDLQI-1 evaluating emotions and feelings: 1.52 (± 0.93). The least impact is in FDLQI-9: 0.46 (± 0.79) describing problems at work/school due to relative/partner’s skin disease. Conclusions: AD according to DLQI has a very large effect on patient’s life. This is similar to the results from other study (Kurwa et al., 1995), which shows mean value 16.2 (± 6.3) in cases of flare-ups at the moment of admission to the hospital. Also in our study the patients were partially examined at the time of acute exacerbation of the disease. A general health-related QoL evaluated by the B-IPQ is also highly impaired. Poor evaluation of timeline/duration is consistent with chronic or relapsing course of the disease. Believes that the illness will last a long time and has a number of symptoms can be associated with more severe consequences perceptions and lower beliefs about cure or control of the disease. The QoL of family members or partners of the patients with AD shows a moderate effect on their QoL. With this findings we confirm the hidden impact of AD on the family members/partners. Our study shows, that AD in adults in the Czech Republic has a detrimental effect to the patient's QoL – confirmed by the disease-specific (DLQI) and general health-related QoL (B-IPQ) questionnaires, and also to their family members/partners according to the results of FDLQI questionnaire. |