title: Mild eczema affects self-perceived health among pre-adolescent girls.
abstract: The aim was to assess the impact of eczema on health-related quality of life in the population-based birth cohort BAMSE with 2,756 pre-adolescent children. All answered the following questions on self-perceived health; "How are you feeling?", "How healthy do you consider yourself to be?" and "How happy are you with your life right now?". Children with ongoing eczema answered the "Children's Dermatology Life Quality Index (CDLQI)" questionnaire. In total, 350 (12.7%) of the children had eczema. Girls with eczema reported impaired self-perceived health as evaluated in the 3 questions; adjusted OR 1.72 (95% CI 1.16-2.55), 1.89 (95% CI 1.29-2.76) and 1.69 (95% CI 1.18-2.42). Eczema among boys was not associated with impairment of self-perceived health. The mean CDLQI score was 3.98 (95% CI 3.37-4.58). Since eczema affects up to 20% of pre-adolescent girls, the findings have implications both for health care providers and for society as a whole.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Environmental Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, SE-171 77 Stockholm, Sweden. natalia.ballardini@ki.se.
authors.forename: Natalia
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Ballardini
authors.forename: Eva
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Östblom
authors.forename: Carl-Fredrik
authors.initials: CF
authors.lastname: Wahlgren
authors.forename: Inger
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Kull
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D002648:Child; D002652:Child Behavior; D004485:Eczema / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D015438:Health Behavior; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011788:Quality of Life; D012649:Self Concept; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D012737:Sex Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires