The Impact of Childhood Atopic Dermatitis on their Families

Shin, Nala; Kim, Seong Hyun; Cho, Soyun; Whang, Kyu Kwang; Hahm, Jeong Hee

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Childhood atopic dermatitis(AD) has a profound effect on the quality of life, disturbing family and social relationships. Stressful familial condition from the child's AD may aggravate AD itself but no information concerning the effect of childhood AD on family function is available in Korea.
OBJECTIVES
The aim of this study was to show how AD effects families, to identify the areas of life most affected and to evaluate the relationship between the effect and severity of AD. METHOD: The 10-questionnaire item(Dermatitis Family Impact questionnaire[DFI]) with assessment of severity of AD was studied in AD patients and compared with control subjects.
RESULTS
The average of the total score of the DFI questionnaire in the AD group was significantly higher than that of the control group (P<0.05) and was linearly related with AD severity, but not as highly (R2=0.161, P=0.003). The highest scoring question in the 10 questions of the DFI questionnaire was that of causing physical tiredness or mental exhaustion, and the lowest, that of time spent on shopping for the family.
CONCLUSION
There is an obvious need to identify and to reduce the suffering of families of children with AD. The DFI may potentially be of value to help guide appropriate management of AD and as an added parameter in clinical trials concerning AD management.