OBJECTIVES

: Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a frequent chronic inflammatory dermatological disease. Health-related quality of life in AD has been widely investigated; nevertheless, direct utility values have been rarely studied. The objective of this study was to elicit time trade-off (TTO) utility values in adult patients with AD.

METHODS

: A multicentre, cross-sectional survey was carried out between 2018 and 2021. Disease severity was measured by the Eczema Area and Severity Index (EASI) and objective SCORing Atopic Dermatitis (oSCORAD) scales. Conventional TTO using a 10-year timeframe with top-down iteration process was used to elicit utilities for patients’ current health.

RESULTS

: Out of 218 AD patients, TTO responses of 193 patients were analysed. Mean (SD) age was 31.0 (11.7) years, 58.5% were female. The mean and median TTO utilities were 0.85 (0.22) and 0.95. Altogether 18.1% of the patients were non-traders, thus valued their own health equal to ’1’ (full health). The mean EASI and oSCORAD scores were 15.5 (12.1) and 35.2 (14.8). There was significant difference between mean utility scores of the clear (0.98); almost clear (0.95); mild (0.95); moderate (0.85); severe (0.76) and very severe (0.28) subgroups by EASI score (p<0.01) and across mild (0.96); moderate (0.84); and severe (0.72) subgroups by oSCORAD score (p<0.01).

CONCLUSIONS

: Severe AD is associated with a substantial utility loss. Our results provide important information for policy decision makers and cost-utility analyses of AD treatments.