Burden of Mild-to-Moderate Atopic Dermatitis: Real-World Insights From US Adults
A recent study published by researchers utilizing data from the Adelphi Real World AD Disease Specific Programme™ provides a comprehensive assessment of the burden associated with mild-to-moderate atopic dermatitis (AD) in US adults. Despite the predominance of mild-to-moderate disease among adults with AD, limited real-world data have been available to assess disease impact, especially in terms of health-related quality of life (HRQoL), productivity, and day-to-day symptom management.
The study included 284 adults with mild AD and 554 with moderate AD based on physician-perceived severity at the most recent consultation. Findings indicate that adults with moderate AD experienced more frequent flares (P < .001) and greater severity of symptoms including dry skin, pruritus, and cracking/raw skin both day-to-day and during flares (P < .05) compared to those with mild AD. Despite the higher symptom burden in moderate AD, patients with both mild and moderate disease utilized a similar number of treatments, highlighting potential gaps in achieving adequate disease control.
Additionally, the study revealed that moderate AD was associated with a more pronounced impact on HRQoL, as measured by the Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI), and greater productivity losses as reported in the Work Productivity and Activity Impairment (WPAI) questionnaire. Adults with moderate AD reported significantly higher rates of presenteeism, work impairment, and activity impairment than those with mild AD (P < .05), underscoring the persistent unmet needs within this patient population.
Physician-reported outcomes indicated that only 62% of those with moderate AD had stable or improving disease, compared to 94% of those with mild AD. Additionally, over half of those with moderate AD reported that AD remained a major problem in everyday life, causing considerable emotional distress.
Despite ongoing treatment, the data indicate that substantial unmet needs persist in adults with mild-to-moderate AD, particularly among those with moderate disease.
“Unmet needs remain and novel treatments or better management strategies using available therapies are necessary to provide improved disease control in adults experiencing mild or moderate AD,” the study authors concluded.
Reference
Silverberg JI, Anderson P, Cappelleri JC, et al. Burden of mild and moderate atopic dermatitis in adults: results from a real-world study in the United States. Arch Dermatol Res. 2025;317(1):556. Published 2025 Mar 12. doi:10.1007/s00403-025-03910-y
