Atopic dermatitis starting in childhood has a stronger impact on adults: results from the ‘Scars of Life’ international project in 27 countries

SUMMARY

The World Health Organization has urged governments worldwide to take action in addressing stigma associated with skin conditions. Patients with atopic dermatitis (AD) commonly experience stigmatization. Moreover, children and adolescents are at a critical stage of social and emotional development, and the visible symptoms or limitations caused by chronic conditions often lead to teasing, bullying or exclusion from peers. Despite this, the long-term impact of stigmatization on individuals who had AD in childhood or adolescence has yet to be thoroughly examined.
In this context, we conducted a survey within the framework of ‘Scars of Life’, a cross-sectional observational study launched at the beginning of 2024, aiming to build a large international database of patients with AD to assess the psychosocial burden of their disease. The survey was conducted in 27 countries across 5 continents. Our objective was to compare the self-reported feelings of stigmatization and psychosocial burden in individuals with AD that started during adulthood with feelings of patients whose AD started in childhood and persisted into adulthood.