Quality of Life and Psychiatric Symptoms in School-aged Children with Atopic Dermatitis / 대한피부과학회지

BACKGROUND: Atopic dermatitis (AD) in school-aged children may affect their daily activities and psychological well-being. It can also have a negative impact on the child's behavior. Little is known about the quality of life (QOL) and psychiatric symptoms in school-aged children and their relationship to disease severity. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to document the impact of AD on QOL and psychiatric symptoms in school-aged children by disease severity. METHODS: Seventy-eight AD patients aged 7approximately19 years were included in this study. Participants completed the Children's Dermatology Life Quality Index (CDLQI), Kovacs' Children's Depression Inventory (CDI), and the Korean Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder Rating Scale (K-ARS). Disease severity was evaluated using the SCORAD (SCORing Atopic Dermatitis) index. RESULTS: The SCORAD was 28.95+/-17.92 (mean+/-SD), and the CDLQI was 8.04+/-6.29. The CDLQI was significantly correlated with the SCORAD. Psychiatric symptoms (CDI and K-ARS) did not show a correlation with the SCORAD, but they worsened with increasing CDLQI score. There was no statistically significant difference among the different age groups. CONCLUSION: We demonstrated that AD had an impact on school-aged children's QOL and psychological well-being. Severity of AD correlated with QOL decrements, indicating greater QOL impact with greater disease severity. Psychiatric symptoms were more related to subjective impairment of QOL than objective disease severity.

Quality of life among schoolchildren with acne: Results of a cross-sectional study.

Background: Acne is a common problem in adolescent children and has a considerable impact on their quality of life. Aims: The purpose of this study was to assess health-related quality of life (HRQoL) among Serbian adolescents with acne, using 2 questionnaires: The Children's Dermatology Life Quality Index (CDLQI) and the Cardiff Acne Disability Index (CADI) and to provide a cross validation of 2 scales. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted among the pupils of the secondary railway-technical school in Belgrade, Serbia. 478 pupils (aged 15 - 18 years) completed 2 HRQoL questionnaires: CDLQI and CADI. We used t-test for differences between mean values of CDLQI and CADI and Spearman's rho coefficient for correlation between 2 questionnaires. Results: Self-reported acne was present in 71.6% of pupils (64.3% boys and 35.7% girls). The overall mean CDLQI score (4.35 of max. 30) and the overall mean CADI score (3.57 of max. 15) were low, indicating a mild impairment of HRQoL among adolescants. There was good correlation between the 2 questionnaires (Spearman' rho = 0.66). Conclusion: The CADI and the CDLQI questionnaires represent simple and reliable instruments for the assesment of HRQoL among schoolchildren with acne. In this study, we identified 17% of boys and 18% of girls perceived their acne as a major problem. It is important to detect and treat such adolescents on time to reduce the psychosocial burden associated with acne.