Patient impact and economic burden of mild-to-moderate atopic dermatitis

Objective: To present a systematic review of studies conducted to evaluate patient impact and economic burden of mild-to-moderate atopic dermatitis.

Methods: A MEDLINE (via PubMed), Excerpta Medica database (Embase), and Cochrane Library search for English-language articles published January 1, 1996–December 31, 2016 was performed. Abstracts were manually reviewed from 2015–2016 from 10 leading conferences and congresses associated with atopic dermatitis. Manuscripts were reviewed for inclusion in two main categories within the review: patient impact of mild-to-moderate atopic dermatitis and economic burden of atopic dermatitis. Excluded from this dataset were any patients in these studies who had severe atopic dermatitis, moderate-to-severe atopic dermatitis, or atopic dermatitis of unspecified severity.

Results: In total, 222 studies qualified for inclusion in the analysis; this report focuses on the 76 studies that reported results stratified by disease severity. Measured by general and specific instruments, even mild-to-moderate atopic dermatitis reduces the overall quality-of-life of patients and their caregivers/families. Disease severity assessed by validated severity instruments directly correlated with quality-of-life. Treatment of atopic dermatitis can improve the quality-of-life of patients and their caregivers/families by alleviation of symptoms and reduction in severity. In general, total costs increased as disease severity increased; even mild atopic dermatitis imposed substantial costs.

Conclusions: The results emphasize the impact of atopic dermatitis, especially mild atopic dermatitis, on patient lives and finances, including education of clinicians, payers, and patients regarding benefits associated with treatment adherence.