Disease severity, scratching, and sleep quality in patients with atopic dermatitis.

BACKGROUND

The relationship between sleep quality and disease severity in patients with atopic dermatitis has not been clearly defined.

METHODS

Sleep efficiency and scratching were measured over 2 nights by polysomnography, actigraphy, and self-report in 20 adults with atopic dermatitis. Tumor necrosis factor, interleukin (IL)-6, and IL-10 were assayed from a subset of 9 participants.

RESULTS

Sleep measured by actigraphy and polysomnography were strongly associated with each other. Decreased sleep efficiency was associated with increasing disease severity, scratching, and IL-6. Self-reported sleep quality and quality of life were not significantly correlated with either objective sleep measure.

LIMITATIONS: Results in this pilot study await confirmation in a larger investigation.

CONCLUSION

Objective measures but not self-report documented that increasing severity of atopic dermatitis results in more scratching and declining sleep quality. Our data also suggest an important relationship between sleep and IL-6.