Clinical experience of using the Children’s Dermatology Life Quality Index in children with atopic dermatitis

Abstract

Background. Atopic dermatitis is a common pruritic skin disease that causes a significant burden on patients, their families, and society. The purpose of this work was to evaluate the quality of life of children with atopic dermatitis and to study the correlation between the severity of atopic dermatitis and the quality of life according to the Children’s Dermatology Life Quality Index (CDLQI). Materials and methods. Patients with atopic dermatitis (n = 71) aged 4–17 years from the allergy department of the Kyiv City Children’s Clinical Hospital No. 2 were included in the study. The severity of atopic dermatitis was assessed by the SCORing Atopic Dermatitis (SCORAD) tool, and the quality of life — by the CDLQI. Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient was used for correlation analysis of the CDLQI and the SCORAD indicators. Correlation was considered probable at p < 0.05. Results. Atopic dermatitis had a small effect on the quality of life in 25.4 % patients, a moderate effect — in 40.8 %, a very large effect — in 19.7 %, and in 12.7 % of patients, atopic dermatitis caused an extremely large effect on the quality of life. Spearman’s correlation coefficient of severity indicators on the SCORAD and the CDLQI was Ro = 0.932; a correlation was found at the significance level of p < 0.01. When evaluating correlation indicators in subgroups of children by degree of severity, a difference was found: in patients with mild atopic dermatitis, there was no correlation (Ro = 0, p > 0.05), in contrast to the group with moderate to severe (Ro = 0.625, p < 0.01) and severe atopic dermatitis (Ro = 0.688, p = 0.01). The quality of life indicator had a positive correlation with the age of patients and duration of the disease, which may be related to a more severe course and a greater social and psychological burden for older children. Conclusions. The Ukrainian version of CDLQI is a reliable tool for assessing the quality of life of paediatric patients with atopic dermatitis.