599 Impact of atopic dermatitis on overall health-related quality of life and health utility scores in US adult patients

Abstract

Previous studies showed atopic dermatitis (AD) is associated with significant burden and decrease in quality of life (QOL). However, the impact of AD on health utility scores and overall QOL in US adults is not well-understood. This study analyzed the 2002-2015 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey, a representative survey of US health expenditures and utilization, to examine the effect of AD diagnosis (weighted frequency=438,920 adults) on health utility scores and compare with other chronic conditions. Diagnoses were identified using ICD9 codes. Short form (SF)-12 was assessed; mental and physical component scores (MCS and PCS) and SF-6D healthy utility scores were estimated. Persons with AD vs non-AD controls had decreased SF-6D health utility scores (mean [95% CI]: 0.48 [0.45-0.52] vs 0.62 [0.62-0.63], respectively; P<.0001), lower MCS (44.7 [39.6-49.8] vs 50.2 [50.1-50.3]; P=0.03), and similar PCS (46.9 [40.9-53.0] vs 48.1 [48.0-48.3]; P=0.70) scores. SF-6D health utility scores [95% CI] for AD were lower than for contact dermatitis (0.64 [0.62-0.66]), urticaria (0.62 [0.58-0.66]), other skin disorders (0.62 [0.61-0.63]), asthma (0.55 [0.55-0.56]), anxiety (0.54 [0.53-0.55]), depression (0.53 [0.53-0.54]), autoimmune disease (0.54 [0.51-0.57]), diabetes (0.55 [0.54-0.55]), and hypertension (0.57 [0.56-0.57]). Based on previously established strata for MCS and SF-6D, 36.8% and 31.6% of AD patients had quite a bit or a great deal of impact on their lifestyle from AD, respectively. In conclusion, there is a significant health burden among US adult patients with AD. Importantly, the health utility decrement of AD is greater than that of many other common, chronic conditions. Improved treatments and other strategies are needed to increase QOL for adults with AD.