Quality of Life and the Family Impact of Atopic Dermatitis in Children

Park, Chang Keun; Park, Chun Wook; Lee, Cheol Heon

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Atopic dermatitis (AD) in children may profoundly affect their quality of life (QOL), in addition to familial life plus cause financial burden.
OBJECTIVE
The aim of this study was to show how AD affects children's QOL, family life and contributes to financial burden, and to evaluate this relationship with severity of AD.
METHODS
The target population comprised of children aged 0~6 years with AD who visited our out-patient department between May 2004 and October 2005. The Infants' Dermatologic Quality of Life Index (IDQOL), the Dermatitis Family Impact questionnaire (DFI) and the Financial Impact questionnaire (FI) were used to quantify the impact of AD on each area. Eczema severity was assessed using the Eczema area and severity index (EASI) score. The student' T-test and simple linear regression were used for statistical analysis.
RESULTS
A total of 101 children completed all the questionnaires. The mean score for IDQOL was 11.50, DFI was 10.05 and FI was 16.10. The highest scoring question for IDQOL was itching and scratching, the lowest one was family activities. For the DFI they were main carer's life effect and shopping. The mean score of EASI was 8.81 and this was linearly related with IDQOL (R2=0.126, p<0.001), DFI (R2=0.154, p<0.001) and FI (R2=0.145, p<0.001), but not as highly.
CONCLUSION
We have shown that children's quality of life, family life and financial burden are related to the severity of AD. The IDQOL, DFI and FI may potentially be of value to help guide appropriate management of AD and can be used as an added parameter in clinical trials involving AD management.