Disease burden and treatment history among adults with atopic dermatitis receiving systemic therapy: baseline characteristics of participants on the EUROSTAD prospective observational study

de Bruin-Weller, Marjolein; Pink, Andrew E.; Patrizi, Annalisa; Giménez Arnau, Anna Maria; Agner, Tove; Roquet-Gravy, Pierre-Paul; Ferrucci, Silvia M.; Arenberger, Petr; Svensson, Ake; Schuttelaar, Marie L. A.; Nosbaum, Audrey; Jayawardena, Shyamalie; Rizova, Elena; Ardeleanu, Marius; Eckert, Laurent; Ozturk, Zafer E.

doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09546634.2020.1866741

Disease burden and treatment history among adults with atopic dermatitis receiving systemic therapy: baseline characteristics of participants on the EUROSTAD prospective observational study

Citation

Bruin-Weller M, Pink AE, Patrizi A, Gimenez-Arnau AM, Agner T, Roquet-Gravy PP, et al. Disease burden and treatment history among adults with atopic dermatitis receiving systemic therapy: baseline characteristics of participants on the EUROSTAD prospective observational study. J Dermatolog Treat. 2021 Mar;32(2):164-73. DOI: 10.1080/09546634.2020.1866741

Abstract

Background: Insights into the real-world treatment paradigm and long-term burden of atopic dermatitis (AD) are needed to inform clinical and health policy decisions. Methods: The prospective, observational EUROSTAD study enrolled adults with moderate-to-severe AD starting or switching systemic therapy (51 sites in 10 European countries). We report the baseline characteristics, treatment patterns, and outcomes of these patients using descriptive statistics. Results: A 12-month enrollment period of EUROSTAD was completed and 308 patients were enrolled: average age 37 years, AD duration 25 years, 43% were female. Most patients reported use of systemic therapy (93%) and ≥1 atopic comorbidity (82%). Mean [standard deviation] disease severity/burden measures were high: Investigator's Global Assessment (3.1 [0.8]), Eczema Area and Severity Index (16.2 [10.9]), Peak Pruritus Numerical Rating Scale (5.5 [2.5]), sleep impairment Visual Analog Scale (49.8 [31.6]) scores, and time lost from work (4.1 [13.7] days/year) or usual activities (16.8 [38.7] days/year). Most patients showed borderline or clinical levels of anxiety (59%) and/or depression (63%) using the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale. Conclusions: Adults with moderate-to-severe AD starting/switching systemic treatment enrolled in EUROSTAD have a high burden of longstanding disease despite continuous use of topical drugs, emollients, and systemic therapies.