Involvement of the head, neck, face, and hands with atopic dermatitis (AD) was associated with a significantly higher impact on health-related quality of life and appeared to be associated with more severe AD, according to a large, cross-sectional study of patients with AD.
"While we know that head, neck, face, and hands seem to be significantly affected by patients with AD, there is a limited evidence basis regarding the prevalence and health-related quality-of-life impact of AD in these areas," presenting author Lawrence F. Eichenfield, MD, said during a late-breaking abstract session at the Revolutionizing Atopic Dermatitis virtual symposium.
For the study, Eichenfield, professor of dermatology and pediatrics at the University of California San Diego School of Medicine, and colleagues evaluated 533 patients from the TARGET-DERM AD cohort, an ongoing, longitudinal, observational study launched in 2019 that captures patients with AD in 44 community or academic sites in the US.
Adult, adolescent, and pediatric patients with moderate or severe Validated Investigator Global Assessment for Atopic Dermatitis (vIGA-AD) scores at enrollment were included in the analysis. The researchers used the Patient-Oriented Scoring AD (PO-SCORAD) index to gather information on involvement of the head, neck, face, hands, or other areas, and the Patient-Oriented Eczema Measure (POEM) and Dermatology Life Quality Index (
