Health-Related Behaviors and Psychological Status of Adolescent Patients with Atopic Dermatitis: The 2019 Korea Youth Risk Behavior Web-Based Survey

Jeong-Hui Park,1 Tyler Prochnow,1 Jongwha Chang,2 Sun Jung Kim3– 5 1Texas A&M University, School of Public Health, College Station, TX, USA; 2Texas A&M University, Irma Lerma Rangel School of Pharmacy, College Station, TX, USA; 3Soonchunhyang University, College of Medical Sciences, Asan, Republic of Korea; 4Center for Healthcare Management Science, Soonchunhyang University, Asan, Republic of Korea; 5Department of Software Convergence, Soonchunhyang University, Asan, Republic of KoreaCorrespondence: Jongwha Chang, Texas A&M University, Irma Lerma Rangel School of Pharmacy, Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College Station, TX, 77843, USA, Email jc2345@tamu.edu Sun Jung Kim, Soonchunhyang University, College of Medical Science, Department of Health Administration and Management, Asan, Republic of Korea, Email sunjkim0623@sch.ac.krObjective: Atopic dermatitis (AD) is one of the common chronic diseases that occur in children and adolescents as a chronic relapsing pruritic inflammatory skin disease. This study investigated how AD is associated with stress and depressive symptoms in a large representative sample of adolescents in South Korea.Methods: The Korea Youth Risk Behavior Web-based Survey 2019 was used in this study (n = 57,069, weighted national estimates = 2,672,170). Multivariate logistic regression was used to determine significant associations between AD and mental health, measured by stress and depressive symptoms. Sub-group analysis was also conducted using various socio-economic variables.Results: Among the present sample, 6.5% of adolescents (n = 173,909) were diagnosed with AD in the past 12 months. After adjusting for other variables, AD diagnosis was associated with significantly higher odds of experiencing stress (OR = 1.43) and depressive symptoms (OR = 1.32) as compared to adolescents without AD. A similar trend is found in subgroup model analysis using socio-economic variables (ie, education levels, parent’s income levels, and residence area). Specifically, female adolescents with AD, adolescents of low socio-economic status, those reporting smoking and drinking experience, and who do not participate in regular physical activity are more vulnerable to stress and depressive symptoms.Conclusion: This is a noteworthy finding because it denotes that AD may lead to negative outcomes, like depressive symptoms or stress, which could be prevented if suspected early.Keywords: adolescent, atopic dermatitis, stress, depressive symptoms