Patient burden of moderate to severe atopic dermatitis (AD): Insights from a phase 2b clinical trial of dupilumab in adults

Background: The adult burden of atopic dermatitis (AD) is poorly characterized.

Objective: We sought to characterize AD burden in adults with moderate to severe disease from the patient's perspective.

Methods: Patient-reported outcomes collected at screening in a phase 2b clinical trial of dupilumab included pruritus numeric rating scale, 5-Dimension Pruritus Scale, subjective components of SCORing AD, Patient-Oriented Eczema Measure, Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, Dermatology Life Quality Index, and 5-Dimension EuroQol.

Results: Most of the 380 patients had been living with AD for nearly all their lives, whereas approximately 40% were given a diagnosis as adults; 40.3% had asthma and 60.5% had other allergic conditions. Despite 48.2% of patients using systemic therapies in the past year, patients reported problems with itch frequency (85% of patients), duration (41.5% reported itching ≥18 h/d), and severity (6.5 of 10 on numeric rating scale); 55% reported AD-related sleep disturbances 5 d/wk or more. Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale scores suggesting clinically relevant anxiety or depression were reported by 21.8% of patients. Quality of life was impaired on Dermatology Life Quality Index and 5-dimension EuroQol.

Limitations: This study had limited generalizability; conclusions may not reflect those with mild AD or not participating in a clinical trial.

Conclusions: Adults with moderate to severe AD report multidimensional burden including disease activity, patient-reported symptoms, comorbidities, and quality-of-life impact.