Almost half (47.1%) of adult patients with atopic dermatitis (AD) experienced a fluctuating course of sleep disorder (SD), according to a dermatology practice-based study in 1295 patients.

“While SD from AD generally improved over time, many patients experienced fluctuating or persistent course of SD. Optimized interventions are warranted to maintain long-term control of sleep in AD patients,” wrote lead author Jaya Manjunath, BS, George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences, Washington, DC, and colleagues.

These data are being presented at the 2022 American Academy of Dermatology (AAD) Annual Meeting.

At baseline, 34.2% of patients had ≥3 nights of SD from AD in the past week. Among them, 49.8% had severe or very severe AD.

Almost one third of patients (31.5%) still experienced SD at the time of the first follow-up visit, but that declined to only 12.3% who experienced persistent SD at the second follow-up visit.

At baseline, 56.2% of patients reported moderate sleep disturbance as measured by their Patient-Reported Outcome Measurement Information System (PROMIS) T scores. The figure declined to= 16.7% by the time of the patient’s second visit. At start, 16.9% of patients had severe SD, which declined to 11.5% by the second follow-up visit.

However, only 23.5% of patients with AD-related SD had a persistent course, while 29.4% indicated sustained improvement. Among predictors of persistent SD were no/public insurance (1.86 [1.11-3.11]). Among predictors of persistently increased PROMIS SD T-scores was comorbid hay fever (1.70 [0.26-3.15]).

Reference
Manjunath J, Lei D, Ahmed A, et al. Longitudinal course of sleep disturbance in adult atopic dermatitis in clinical practice. Poster presented at: AAD Annual Meeting; March 25-29, 2022. Boston, MA.