Background: Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a chronic inflammatory skin disease characterized by recurrent eczematous lesions and intense pruritus. AD patients are known to face a considerable disease burden, including physical and emotional limitations. There is still limited knowledge about daily implications in education and occupation. We describe disease social stigmatization by measuring bullying and self-isolation in students and professional discrimination in workers. Overall loss of productivity, either at school and at the workplace, was quantified as the sum of absenteeism (number of days AD sick leave) and presenteeism (number of days with decreased focus and functionality).
Methods: An on-line web survey was sent to 3235 random recipients and 401 met the inclusion criteria (self-reporting AD and ≥ 12 yo). The survey domains included daily limitations, QoL, feelings and relationships, together with specific questions about bullying, discrimination and loss of productivity.
Results: AD negatively affected QoL in 51.6% of respondents, whereas 68.8% considered AD as a real limit to daily routine. More in detail, 39.3% of students were victims of bullying and 33.9% of workers felt discriminated because of AD. On average, absenteeism in students was for 17.1 days/year (presenteeism: 19.5 days/year), whereas in workers, the estimate was 10.9 days/year (presenteeism: 13.1 days/year). Absenteeism and presenteeism were more pronounced in bullied/discriminated subjects.
Conclusion: AD multidimensional implications deeply affect and undermine personal and professional fulfillments. Our results contribute to a better understanding of what living with AD means.



中文翻译：

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特应性皮炎和患者的观点：学校欺凌和工作中的职业歧视的见解

背景：特应性皮炎（AD）是一种慢性炎症性皮肤病，其特征是反复出现湿疹性皮损和剧烈瘙痒。众所周知，AD 患者面临着相当大的疾病负担，包括身体和情感上的限制。关于教育和职业的日常影响的知识仍然有限。我们通过测量学生的欺凌和自我隔离以及工人的职业歧视来描述疾病的社会污名化。无论是在学校还是在工作场所，生产力的总体损失被量化为缺勤率（AD 病假天数）和出勤率（注意力和功能下降的天数）的总和。
方法：向 3235 名随机接收者发送了在线网络调查，其中 401 名符合纳入标准（自我报告 AD 和 ≥ 12 岁）。调查领域包括日常限制、生活质量、感受和关系，以及关于欺凌、歧视和生产力损失的具体问题。
结果： AD 对 51.6% 的受访者的生活质量产生负面影响，而 68.8% 的受访者认为 AD 是日常生活的真正限制。更详细地说，39.3% 的学生是欺凌的受害者，33.9% 的工人因为 AD 感到受歧视。平均而言，学生的缺勤时间为 17.1 天/年（出勤率：19.5 天/年），而在工人中，估计为 10.9 天/年（出勤率：13.1 天/年）。缺勤和出勤在受欺凌/歧视的科目中更为明显。
结论：AD 多维影响深刻地影响和破坏个人和职业成就。我们的结果有助于更好地理解患有 AD 的意义。