Impact of atopic dermatitis on quality of life in children and their families: A tertiary care hospital-based study from Northern India

Objectives: Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a chronic inflammatory skin disease that is more frequent among children. Childhood is a critical time for physical and psychosocial development and AD develops more commonly in children in the first five years of life. The objective of the study was to determine the impact of AD on the quality of life (QoL) of Indian children and their families and correlate it with AD severity and the perception of severity as estimated by the family. Material and Methods: In the present study, 30 children clinically diagnosed with AD and 30 age- and sex-matched healthy controls presenting to our hospital were evaluated. Data on QOL were obtained through a questionnaire; Infants Dermatitis Quality of Life Index (IDQOL), Children’s Dermatology Life Quality Index (CDLQI), and Dermatology Life Quality Index (DQLI) were used for patients,and the Dermatitis Family Impact (DFI) questionnaire for the family of the patients. The severity of the disease was determined using the Scoring for AD (SCORAD) index. Results: In our study, there were 16 male patients and 14 female patients. History of atopy was significantly higher in children with AD (p <0.001); 13 patients had mild, 17 had moderate, and none of the patients had severe disease. The severity of the disease was found to correlate negatively with the age of the child. IDQOL positively correlated with the age of children with AD (r = 0.865, P < 0.001). CDLQI negatively correlated with the age of children with AD (r = −0.616, P = 0.033). Impairment in IDQOL and CDLQI showed a significant positive correlation with DFI (r = 0.846, P < 0.001; r = 0.910, P < 0.001). Conclusion: AD is associated with lowered QOL of the patient,which increases with the severity of the disease. Itch and sleep disturbance were the most severely affected symptoms of AD. The disease significantly impacted the QOL of the family. The main issue with parents caring for AD children is continuous expenditure on treatment, emotional distress, and physical exhaustion. Therefore, efforts are needed to help parents by medical care personnel so that the outcomes in both the child and the significantly burdened parent caregiver can be improved.