Introduction: Atopic eczema is a chronic relapsing skin disease occurring in children and it causes disruption on the quality of life of the sufferer. Objectives: To determine the quality of life and its associated factors among children with atopic eczema in Kelantan, Malaysia.
Methodology: A cross sectional study was conducted among children diagnosed as atopic dermatitis attending Dermatology Clinic, HRPZ II, Kelantan, Malaysia. Children Dermatology Life Quality Index (CDLQI), and severity of the disease (SCORAD) questionnaire were used. Data was entered and analysed by Simple and General Linear Regression using PASW 18.
Result: A total of 110 children were recruited with response rate of 100%. Quality of life score was skewed to the right with median (IQR) of 8.0 (8.0). Subanalysis of the items showed that items concerning the symptoms (Q1), embarrassment (Q2), sleep loss (Q9) and treatment difficulty (Q10) were mostly affected. Only disease severity was the significant associated factor for quality of life with regression coefficient of 0.18 (95%CI: 0.09,0.26) (P< 0.01).
Conclusion: The overall children’s quality of life was not impaired because not all items in CDLQI were equally affected. Disease severity was a significant associated factor for quality of life among children with atopic dermatitis in Kota Bharu, Kelantan.