Real-world clinical, psychosocial, and economic burden of atopic dermatitis in Russia: results of the ESSENTIAL AD multicountry study

BACKGROUND: There is limited real-world evidence on the burden of atopic dermatitis in patients receiving systemic or non-systemic therapies in clinical practice in Russia.

AIM: To understand severity of atopic dermatitis symptoms and quality of life of patients receiving systemic and non-systemic treatment in the routine clinical practice.

METHODS: ESSENTIAL AD was a cross-sectional, observational, retrospective chart review study in adult (18–65 years) patients with the confirmed atopic dermatitis. The results provided in this article are obtained in Russia as a part of the multicountry study. Primary variables included Eczema Area and Severity Index, Scoring Atopic Dermatitis and Dermatology Life Quality Index according to the assessment at the single visit performed at the study enrollment in. Patients were prescribed to and administered all treatments irrespectively to the study participation.

RESULTS: A total of 125 patients were analyzed, 63 of whom received systemic and 62 non-systemic therapy. Mean disease duration was 15.5 ± 14.5 years. In the overall population, Eczema Area and Severity Index, Scoring Atopic Dermatitis and Dermatology Life Quality Index total scores were 9.0 ± 10.1, 32.9 ± 16.1 and 8.9 ± 7.0, respectively, which corresponded to moderate disease severity and moderate effect of atopic dermatitis on quality of life. Disease burden was significantly higher in systemic treatment group vs non-systemic: Eczema Area and Severity Index was 12.4 ± 11.5 (moderate) vs 5.4 ± 6.8 (mild) (p < 0.0001) and Scoring Atopic Dermatitis was 38.6 ± 16.7 vs 27.0 ± 13.2 (moderate category for both groups) (p < 0.0001), respectively. Impact of the disease on quality of life was also more pronounced (p = 0.002) in systemic vs non-systemic treatment group with Dermatology Life Quality Index of 10.7 ± 7.1 (very large effect on quality of life) vs 7.1 ± 6.4 (moderate effect on quality of life), respectively.

CONCLUSION: According to the data obtained in real-world conditions of the Russian daily clinical practice, patients with atopic dermatitis have a prominent disease burden and impact on quality of life, despite receiving systemic treatment, which is consistent with the wider population of the multinational ESSENTIAL AD study. This reflects the unmet medical need for effective management of patients with moderate to severe atopic dermatitis in Russia.