The impact of psychological and clinical factors on quality of life in individuals with atopic dermatitis

Objective: The aim of the study was to assess the influence of general and dermatitis-specific psychological and clinical factors on quality of life in adults with atopic dermatitis (AD). Method: A total of 125 adults recruited through the National Eczema Society of U.K. (NES) completed a number of psychological and dermatological questionnaires, including the Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI), the Stigmatisation and Eczema Questionnaire (SEQ), the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), the Fear of Negative Evaluation Scale (FNE) and the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSE). Results: Pearson's correlational analyses suggested that perceptions of stigma were significantly associated with psychological factors as well as quality of life (Ps<.01). An association was also found between perceived stigma and disease severity (-.28, P<.01). Almost 46% of participants were identified as having probable mood disorder. Regression analysis indicated that perceptions of stigma and depression accounted for 44.5% of the variance in quality of life in this sample [F(3,121)=34.18, P<.001], when disease severity was controlled for. Conclusion: Psychological factors and disease severity were strong predictors of quality of life in adults with AD. AD-related perceptions of stigma were of particular importance in predicting AD-related quality of life over and above more general psychological factors, such as depression. These findings have important implications for the psychological and clinical management of AD. (C) 2004 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.