Amy Paller, MD: Evaluating the Impact of Atopic Dermatitis on Pediatric Patients

Investigators from the Atopic Dermatitis Global Adolescent & Pediatric (AD-GAP) Survey recently established 16 quality of life (QoL) factors for patients with moderate to severe atopic dermatitis.

Those factors, as well as the data pulled from several different participant groups uniquely affected by the disease, were presented this week at the European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology (EADV) 30th Congress.

In the presentation, investigators spoke of the data culled from various responses within 3 unique participant groups, which included young patients (kids 6-11 years old and teens 12-17 years old), parents and caregivers, and independent physicians.

Overall, nearly 4,000 survey participants from13 countries were included in the study.

Responses pertained to the psychological burden of atopic dermatitis, as well as the daily implications of the disease, the social and family impact, treatment burden, and more.

In an interview with HCPLive, Amy Paller, MD, Professor and Chair of Dermatology and Professor of Pediatrics at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, spoke of the findings presented in the study, and how they could offer insight into how patients and clinicians communicate about atopic disease.

“One of the aspects we stress is that you can't shut out the patient in having conversations (about their disease), and particularly the older patient who needs to start taking control of his or her own life, who needs to be engaged in doing these therapies and in making the decision, and who can clearly answer the questions about impact in a way that's even better than what the parent can,” Paller said.

“So, addressing the adolescent, primarily, (and) pulling in the parent as well, but helping to broker the discussion that then has to involve the teenager in particular or the oldest child as well as the parents is very important.”

To hear more about the complications of moderate to severe atopic dermatitis in younger populations, and how patients, caregivers, and physicians can work together to better navigate the burdens of the disease, watch the above interview with Dr. Paller.