Domain-specific psychosocial and functional impairment in adults with atopic dermatitis: A nationwide cross-sectional study from Saudi Arabia
Mohammed Almashali, Ibrahim M. Aseeri, Yazeed Ibrahim Alfarhan, Muteb Mutlaq Alotaibi, Abdulmajeed Ali Alotaibi, Abdulelah F. Alshehri, Abdulmohsen S. Alanazi, Bandar M. Alotaibi, Abdulrahman Alhaddad, Rana Alhazzani, Meshal Alzakari
A
BSTRACT
Background:
Although atopic dermatitis (AD) substantially impairs quality of life, whether this burden is distributed uniformly across patient-reported domains and demographic subgroups remains insufficiently characterized.
Methods:
In this nationwide cross-sectional study, adults with physician-diagnosed AD completed the Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI). Domain-specific impairment and demographic associations were evaluated using effect-size–based analyses.
Results:
Among 886 participants, quality-of-life impairment followed a distinct hierarchical pattern rather than affecting all domains equally. Pruritus/pain (mean DLQI 1.31 ± 0.91), clothing limitations (1.22 ± 1.01), and embarrassment (1.10 ± 0.99) emerged as the principal contributors to disease burden, whereas work and study were least affected (0.50 ± 0.68). Gender demonstrated the strongest association with domain-specific impairment (Cramer’s V up to 0.432), followed by age (0.267), while regional differences remained consistently small.
Conclusion:
AD burden is multidimensional and hierarchically distributed across patient-reported domains rather than uniformly affecting daily life. Domain-specific assessment may therefore provide a more accurate representation of patient burden than global quality-of-life measures alone and support more individualized management.