Infantile atopic dermatitis - increasing severity predicts negative impacts on maternal and infant sleep: a mixed methods study.

BACKGROUND: While the impacts of atopic dermatitis (AD) on maternal and child sleep outcomes have been previously explored, less is known about the associations between infantile AD and sleep quality and quantity. OBJECTIVE: To describe the perceived causes of AD-associated maternal sleep disturbances and the association between AD severity and infant sleep outcomes. METHODS: Mothers with infants aged < 19 months old with a diagnosis of AD were recruited from social media and medical clinics in Winnipeg, Canada between October 2021 and May 2022. Infant AD severity was classified using maternal-reported data on the Patient-Oriented Scoring Atopic Dermatitis tool (PO-SCORAD). Quantitative data were collected via a series of questionnaires with a subset of mothers subsequently completing semi-structured interviews. Quantitative and qualitative data were integrated in the discussion. RESULTS: Mothers of infants with moderate/severe AD (6/12) were more likely to report their infant suffering from a higher degree of sleeplessness (i.e., ≥ 5 on a scale of 0-10) over the past 48 h compared to mothers of infants with mild AD (0/18). This was supported by qualitative findings where mothers described how their infant's sleep quality and quantity worsened with AD severity. Additionally, 7/32 mothers reported that their child's AD, regardless of severity, disturbed their sleep. Maternal sleep loss was most commonly attributed to infant itching (6/7), followed by worry (4/7). CONCLUSION: Infantile AD severity was associated with worse sleep outcomes for both mothers and infants. We propose that maternal and infantile sleep quality and quantity can be improved by reducing AD severity through adherence to topical treatments.

Infantile atopic dermatitis and maternal-infant bonding: a mixed methods study.

BACKGROUND: Childhood atopic dermatitis can have a negative effect on caregivers' quality of life and stress levels due to the burdensome nature of its treatment. Given that the condition often emerges in infancy, atopic dermatitis-related stress also carries the potential to negatively affect the developing mother-infant bond. While it is plausible that atopic dermatitis has a negative impact on maternal-infant bonding, these relationships have not been studied directly. In light of this gap, the current study investigated the association between infantile atopic dermatitis and the maternal-infant bond using a mixed-method design. METHODS: Mothers of infants (< 19 months) with atopic dermatitis were recruited from social media and medical clinics between October 2021 and May 2022. Mothers with infants unaffected by inflammatory skin conditions were also recruited to serve as a control group. Participants were asked to complete questionnaires related to their demographics, child's health, and mother-infant bond. Multiple linear regression analyses were used to assess bonding quality among cases and controls. A subset of cases were also asked to participate in semi-structured interviews focused on infantile atopic dermatitis and the maternal-infant bond. RESULTS: The final sample consisted of 32 cases and 65 controls. Scores on the impaired bonding and risk of abuse subscales did not significantly differ between cases and controls. However, mothers of infants with atopic dermatitis did report lower levels of caregiving anxiety (b = - 1.47, p < 0.01) and pathological anger/rejection (b = - 1.74, p = 0.02) relative to controls. Qualitative findings suggest that the topical therapies required to manage atopic dermatitis may strengthen the bond between some mothers and infants. CONCLUSION: Findings suggest that atopic dermatitis does not have a negative impact on maternal-infant bonding and may actually improve bonds in some cases. In light of this finding, clinicians may leverage the potentially positive impact of atopic dermatitis-related caregiving on the maternal-infant bond to encourage caregivers to remain adherent to their child's topical treatments.

Residential overcrowding in relation to children's health, environment and schooling - a qualitative study.

AIM: To explore how overcrowding affects children's health, environment and schooling. METHODS: A qualitative study was conducted with individual interviews among 20 participants with occupational experience from overcrowded Stockholm areas but diverse in professions, locations and employers. The interviews were recorded, transcribed and analysed with Systematic Text Condensation. RESULTS: Almost all participants expressed that overcrowding has a negative impact on children's health, environment and schooling - based on perceptions of precarious and different living conditions for children in overcrowded areas, for example, substandard homes, vulnerability, stress, exclusion, limited resources, lack of learning opportunities, gender differences, confinement, shame, insecurity, conflicts, risk of criminality, and bodily impact, both physical and psychological. CONCLUSIONS: Our qualitative evidence suggest that overcrowding has a negative impact on children's health, environment and schooling.

Living with Atopic Dermatitis as a Young Adult in Relation to Health-related Quality of Life and Healthcare Contacts: A Population-based Study.

Most studies of health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and atopic dermatitis are based on data from dermatology clinics. The aim of this study was to determine whether atopic dermatitis affects HRQoL in adolescence and young adulthood, based on data from the population-based cohort BAMSE (Children, Allergy, Environmental, Stockholm, Epidemiology). A further aim was to determine if the use of topical corticosteroids and healthcare contacts affect HRQoL. Participants with data from birth to young adulthood (n=3,064) were included. Two generic instruments were used to measure HRQoL:General Health at age 12, 16 and 24 years and EQ-5D-3L, including EQ-visual analogue scale (EQ-VAS) at age 24 years. In addition, the disease-specific Dermatology Quality Life Index (DLQI) was used at 24 years. Healthcare consultations for atopic dermatitis were obtained from Stockholm Regional Healthcare Data Warehouse (n = 1,944). Participants with atopic dermatitis had an increased odds ratio (OR) of not feeling completely healthy (adjusted OR 1.50; 95% confidence interval (95% CI): 1.30-1.73). Participants with persistent atopic dermatitis, fulfilling atopic dermatitis criteria in the 12- and/or 16- and 24-year follow-ups reported worse EQ-VAS value 70.0 (95% CI 67.3-72.7) in the 25th percentile, than peers without atopic dermatitis. Over an 8-year period, contact with healthcare was limited (mean number 0.96). In conclusion, atopic dermatitis had a negative impact on HRQoL in young adults from adolescence to adulthood and healthcare consultations were few.

Living with Food Hypersensitivity as an Adolescent Impairs Health Related Quality of Life Irrespective of Disease Severity: Results from a Population-Based Birth Cohort.

Food hypersensitivity (FHS) refers to food-related symptoms, with or without concurrent Immunoglobulin E (IgE) antibodies related to food(s). It remains unclear how different FHS phenotypes affect health-related quality of life (HRQoL). We examined self-reported HRQoL (with the generic instrument EQ-5D (dimensions and a Visual Analogue Scale (VAS), range 0-100) in association with phenotypes of FHS, and food-specific symptoms among adolescents (n = 2990) from a population-based birth cohort. Overall, 22% of the adolescents had FHS. Compared to adolescents without FHS, those with FHS reported more problems in the dimensions of pain/discomfort (p < 0.001), and anxiety/depression (p = 0.007). Females with FHS reported more problems than males in these dimensions (p < 0.001). Different FHS phenotypes (IgE-sensitization, allergic co-morbidity, and severity of symptoms) were not associated with differences in HRQoL. EQ-VAS scores were lowest for adolescents with symptoms for wheat vs. no wheat, median 80 vs. 89, p = 0.04) and milk vs. no milk (median 85 vs. 90, p = 0.03). Physician-diagnosed lactose intolerance median EQ-VAS was 80 vs. 90, p = 0.03 and also associated with more problems in the dimension of anxious/depression. In conclusion, FHS is associated with lower HRQoL in adolescence, irrespective of phenotypes, but differentially affects females vs. males, and those with vs. without symptoms for milk or wheat.

Young adults' perceptions of living with atopic dermatitis in relation to the concept of self-management: a qualitative study.

OBJECTIVES: Learning to take control of one's health is an important part of the transition from adolescence to adulthood. This study aimed to explore young adults' perceptions of living with atopic dermatitis (AD) in relation to the concept of self-management. DESIGN: A qualitative study with an inductive approach was performed through semistructured interviews (n=15). The interviews were recorded, transcribed verbatim and analysed with systematic text condensation. PARTICIPANTS: Young adults (mean age 23,4 years) with persistent AD in a longitudinal population-based birth cohort. To capture experience of living with persistent AD (preschool/school-age onset) of different severity (mild to severe/very severe), a purposive selection was performed. In total, 15 young adults were included. Persistent AD (preschool/school-age onset) was defined as dry skin in combination with itchy rash of typical localisation in the 12 months preceding the 16-year and the 24-year follow-ups. Severity was self-assessed using the Patient Oriented Eczema Measure. RESULTS: Despite having experience of AD since childhood, the respondents expressed uncertainty about treatment and how it affected their bodies. Their uncertainties and feelings affected how they used topical corticosteroids. The respondents emphasised that they perceived availability of healthcare and knowledge about treatment of AD among healthcare providers to be limited. The participants did not state any experiences of support to self-management from healthcare, which affect young adults' possibilities to take full control of their AD care. CONCLUSIONS: Young adults with preschool/school-age onset of AD are unsure how to treat and manage the disease. One explanation may be insufficient transition process.

Lost in the transition from pediatric to adult healthcare? Experiences of young adults with severe asthma.

Objective: Asthma is a multifaceted disease, and severe asthma is likely to be persistent. Patients with severe asthma have the greatest burden and require more healthcare resources than those with mild-to-moderate asthma. The majority with asthma can be managed in primary care, while some patients with severe asthma warrant referral for expert advice regarding management. In adolescence, this involves a transition from pediatric to adult healthcare. This study aimed to explore how young adults with severe asthma experienced the transition process.Methods: Young adults with severe asthma were recruited from an ongoing Swedish population-based cohort. Qualitative data were obtained through individual interviews (n = 16, mean age 23.4 years), and the transcribed data were analyzed with systematic text condensation.Results: Four categories emerged based on the young adults' experiences: "I have to take responsibility", "A need of being involved", "Feeling left out of the system", and "Lack of engagement". The young adults felt they had to take more responsibility, did not know where to turn, and experienced fewer follow-ups in adult healthcare. Further, they wanted healthcare providers to involve them in self-management during adolescence, and in general, they felt that their asthma received insufficient support from healthcare providers.Conclusions: Based on how the young adults with severe asthma experienced the transition from pediatric to adult healthcare, it is suggested that healthcare providers together with each patient prepare, plan, and communicate in the transition process for continued care in line with transition guidelines.

Living with a Severe Allergy: Lived Perspectives from Swedish Adolescents and their Parents.

BACKGROUND: During adolescence, the young person should gradually develop independence from his or her parents. However, having a chronic disease like a severe allergy may add stress and challenges beyond normal development and involves a struggle between adapting socially, feeling healthy, and managing the disease. OBJECTIVE: To describe experiences of living with a severe allergy from the perspective of adolescents and their parents. METHOD: A qualitative study with six focus group interviews were performed, two with adolescents and four with their parents (10 adolescents, 10-16 years old and 21 parents). The transcribed data were analyzed using systematic text condensation. RESULT: Four themes emerged: Feeling different (adolescents and parents), shift in responsibility (adolescents and parents), the importance of parents (only adolescents) and the importance of healthcare providers (only parents). The adolescents relied on their parents, while also taking responsibility for managing their disease. The parents expressed a need to protect their children; but they did not seem to be aware of the responsibility their children took. The parents highlighted the importance of support from healthcare providers but this was not mentioned by the adolescents. CONCLUSION: This study showed that both the adolescents and their parents stated that they took responsibility for managing the disease, but in different ways. For healthcare providers, this needs to be taken into account in order to support both adolescents and parents for self-management and shift in responsibilities which begins during adolescents.

Influence of contextual factors on quality of primary care in children with asthma.

OBJECTIVE: Asthma is a common chronic disease among children, quality assurance is thus important. Adherence to pre-specified quality indicators of practice guidelines could be used to assess the quality of asthma care. The aim was to estimate which contextual factors that had an influence on the primary health care centres (PHCs) adherence to the quality indicators as stated in the practice guidelines. METHOD: A pragmatic cross-sectional study was performed comprising 14 PHCs in Sweden. Included contextual factors were socio-demographic characteristics, organizational characteristics, and indicators regarding engagement in asthma care. Documentation on adherence to the quality indicators was retrieved from the medical health care records. Quality indicators included documentation of history of allergy and risk factors, diagnostics and patient support performed, and pharmacological treatment. To score adherence, a composite quality indicator (CQI) was computed for each PHC. A multivariable regression analysis was performed by orthogonal projection to latent structures (OPLS). By this analysis, the relationship between the result variable (CQI) and 26 pre-specified contextual factors was assessed. RESULTS: There was a wide variation of CQI between the PHCs. The OPLS analysis identified that 10 of the contextual factors influenced CQI. The most pronounced influences were found in more time scheduled for asthma care, a lower age-limit for performing spirometry, a lower duty-grade for general practitioners, and a higher activity at asthma educational seminars. We found no influence of socio-demographic contextual factors. CONCLUSION: We found that some of the contextual factors at the PHCs influenced the quality of performed care. Evidence-based care in paediatric asthma may thus be presumed to be facilitated by allocating time, by improving interprofessional collaboration, and by creating structures and opportunities for commitment to asthma care.

Experiences of Daily Life Among Adolescents With Asthma - A Struggle With Ambivalence.

OBJECTIVE: There is limited knowledge about how adolescents with asthma view their disease in daily life and how these views impact on management. The aim of this study was to describe experiences of daily life, with particular focus on thoughts, feelings and management of adolescents with asthma. METHODS: In this qualitative study, data were obtained from 10 interviews with adolescents (aged 16-18 years) with asthma recruited from the Swedish population-based prospective birth cohort, BAMSE. Data were analysed through Systematic Text Condensation. RESULTS: Experiences of daily life among adolescents with asthma were defined in four categories: Insight and understanding; Asthma not the focus of daily life; Being acknowledged and, Being affected by asthma symptoms. The adolescents had developed an insight into and understanding of their disease, but did not want asthma to be the focus of their daily lives. The adolescents wanted their asthma to be acknowledged, but not to the point that they were defined by their asthma. They reported having many asthma symptoms, especially during physical activity, but also described a desire to feel healthy, "normal" and like their peers. CONCLUSIONS: Having asthma in adolescence involves several struggles with ambivalence between adapting socially, feeling healthy and managing one's asthma. IMPLICATIONS IN CLINICAL PRACTICE: The provision of person-centred care may be one way to handle the ambivalence among adolescents with asthma and thereby help them to manage their asthma.

Adherence to guidelines for drug treatment of asthma in children: potential for improvement in Swedish primary care.

BACKGROUND: Adherence to guidelines in general is poor. Because asthma is the most common chronic disease in Swedish children, identifying areas for improvement regarding drug treatment for asthma is crucial. AIM: To explore the utilisation patterns of anti-asthmatic drugs in children with asthma in relation to evidence-based guidelines. METHOD: All children visiting 14 primary healthcare centres in Stockholm, Sweden, who had their first prescription of anti-asthmatic agents dispensed between July 2006 and June 2007 were followed over 24 consecutive months. The children (1033 in total) were divided in two age groups: 0-6 years and 7-16 years. The outcome measurements were: the characteristics of the physicians initiating drug treatment; the extent to which the children were initiated on the drugs recommended in the guidelines; and the amount and frequency of drugs dispensed over time and whether the dosage texts on the prescriptions contained adequate information. RESULTS: In 54% of the older children and 35% of the younger children, only one prescription for anti-asthmatic drugs was dispensed during two years of follow-up following the first prescription. In school-aged children, 50% were initiated on inhaled short-acting bronchodilating beta2-agonists (SABA) in monotherapy. Among preschool children, 64% were initiated on SABA and inhaled corticosteroids in combination. In 41% of the prescriptions dispensed, the indication was stated and in 25% the mechanism of action was stated. Drug therapy was initiated by a general practitioner in 42% of the younger children and 72% of the older children. CONCLUSION: There is a need for improvement in adherence to guidelines in important areas. Asthma, especially among children aged 7-16 years, is usually a chronic disease and should, in many cases, be treated with anti-asthmatics counteracting inflammation. However, this was not the case in our study. In addition, the dosage texts written by the physicians did not follow recommendations and may negatively influence patient safety.

Adherence to national guidelines for children with asthma at primary health centres in Sweden: potential for improvement.

BACKGROUND: Although asthma is the most common chronic paediatric disease in Western Europe, the extent of adherence to guidelines for primary care management of paediatric asthma remains unclear. AIMS: To evaluate adherence to national guidelines for primary care management of children with asthma. METHODS: This survey involved 18 primary healthcare centres in Stockholm, Sweden. The medical records of 647 children aged 6 months to 16 years with a diagnosis of asthma, obstructive bronchitis, or cough were selected and scrutinised. 223 children with obstructive bronchitis or cough not fulfilling the evidence-based criteria for asthma were excluded, yielding a total of 424 subjects. Documentation of the most important indicators of quality as stipulated in national guidelines (i.e., tobacco smoke, spirometry, pharmacological treatment, patient education, and demonstration of inhalation technique) was examined. RESULTS: Only 22% (n=49) of the children 6 years of age or older had ever undergone a spirometry test, but the frequency was greater when patients had access to an asthma nurse (p=0.003). Although 58% (n=246) of the total study population were treated with inhaled steroids, documented patient education and demonstration of inhalation technique was present in 14% (n=59). Exposure to tobacco smoke was documented in 14% (n=58). CONCLUSIONS: This study reveals a substantial gap between the actual care provided for paediatric asthma and the recommendations formulated in national guidelines.

Establishing levels of indications for cataract surgery: combining clinical and questionnaire data into a measure of cataract impact.

PURPOSE: To develop a model for establishing indications for cataract surgery that incorporates clinical and questionnaire data on a single linear scale using Rasch analysis. METHODS: In this prospective study, 293 preoperative cataract surgery patients (mean age, 72.8±10 years; age range, 33-98 years; 174 female, 119 male; 49% with ocular comorbidity) completed two questionnaires, and visual acuity was measured in each eye. A cataract impact model was developed using Rasch analysis incorporating questionnaire scores and visual acuity. Participants were ranked from 1 to 293 based on the order in which they presented (first in first out [FIFO]) and then were ranked based on the cataract impact model. The main outcome measure was the number of participants moving 49 (16.7% change) rank positions, which represented a likelihood to change priority category. RESULTS: The cataract impact model was unidimensional (fit statistics within 0.66-1.68) and had adequate precision (person separation of 2.58), and the components were well targeted to the population (0.05 logits between the mean item difficulty and person ability). Two hundred twenty-seven (77.5%) patients moved by at least 49 rank positions. CONCLUSIONS: It is possible to combine clinical and questionnaire data and rank patients on a single linear scale. This approach modifies the ranking that occurs with the FIFO model and can be used for prioritizing patients for surgical intervention. More sophisticated models incorporating more clinical information may provide a better measure of the cataract impact latent trait.