Impaired psychological wellbeing and social relationships are often observed in Atopic dermatitis (AD) sufferers, a common chronic inflammatory skin condition.

There is a lack of studies on AD’s impact on quality of life (QoL) in Asian populations with genetic, environmental and cultural differences. 

A study thus systematically reviewed the literature about QoL impairment in AD in East and Southeast Asia, utilizing MEDLINE, EMBASE, PSYCInfo, Global Health and Web of Science. 

The observations from the investigation were as follows-

• 27 studies were included and synthesized.
• Various Asian countries, healthcare settings and ages showed QoL impairment among AD sufferers and their families
• QoL was found to be greatly impacted by symptoms of itch, feelings of embarrassment, and sleep disturbance.
• The severity of the disease was proportional to the degree of impairment of QoL
• QoL impairment was not found to be associated with patient demographic factors, or other medical factors like age at diagnosis, duration of illness. 

The study also underscored the importance of clinicians to actively explore the impact of patient’s symptoms, particularly in an Asian context that observes doctor-centric healthcare communications.

Huang J, Choo YJ, Smith HE et al. Quality of life in atopic dermatitis in Asian countries: a systematic review. Arch Dermatol Res (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00403-021-02246-7