The burden of atopic dermatitis in US adults: results from the 2013 National Health and Wellness Survey

Objectives: To characterize comorbidities, health-related quality-of-life (HRQoL), productivity, and healthcare resource use in adults with atopic dermatitis (AD) relative to those without AD, and to evaluate the impact of patient-reported AD severity on these outcomes.

Methods: Data were from the 2013 National Health and Wellness Survey (NHWS), which collected self-reported information on demographics, comorbidities, HRQoL (SF-36v2 Health Survey), productivity (Work Productivity and Impairment questionnaire [WPAI]), and healthcare utilization, which were weighted to the US general population. The AD cohort consisted of subjects who reported that they experienced AD within the past 12 months (n?=?428), and the non-AD cohort included all subjects who did not report experiencing AD (n?=?74,572); 366 AD subjects self-reported mild (n?=?182) or moderate/severe (n?=?184) disease. Univariable and multivariable analyses compared characteristics and outcomes between cohorts and between AD severity levels.

Results: The AD cohort was younger than non-AD cohort (44.3 vs. 46.6 years; P?=?0.0033), and had a higher proportion of females (64.4% vs. 51.8%; P?P?P?P?P?Conclusions: The significant burden associated with AD relative to those without AD suggests an unmet need for more effective management strategies. There also appears to be a need for further characterization of disease severity and its impact on HRQoL.