MtS-AD negatively impacts patients' sexual well-being; however, advanced therapies like abrocitinib and dupilumab can significantly improve the sexual lives of affected patients, highlighting the broader benefits of these treatments on QoL.
The vast majority of patients with moderate-to-severe atopic dermatitis reported that the condition affected their sexual well-being before treatment.
Feeling unattractive was the most commonly reported sexual well-being impact of moderate-to-severe atopic dermatitis before treatment.
After 52 weeks of treatment with abrocitinib or dupilumab, negative sexual well-being perceptions and behaviors significantly reduced.
Limited data exists on the effects atopic dermatitis poses on sexual well-being, representing a gap in the literature.
Advanced therapies abrocitinib and dupilumab demonstrated broader quality-of-life benefits beyond skin symptom control by improving patients' sexual well-being.
This research suggests that moderate-to-severe atopic dermatitis (a chronic, inflammatory skin condition also known as eczema) has a significant negative impact on patients' sexual well-being, an area that has not been widely studied. In a group of 44 patients with an average age of about 31 years, nearly 9 out of 10 reported that their skin condition affected their sexual lives before starting treatment. The most common concerns included feeling unattractive (about 80%), avoiding sexual activity (about 68%), feeling ashamed or embarrassed (about 68%), and experiencing rejection (about 57%). After 52 weeks of treatment with one of two advanced therapies — abrocitinib (a pill that targets inflammation through a different pathway) or dupilumab (an injectable biologic) — these negative feelings and behaviors significantly decreased. This suggests that effective treatment of the skin disease itself can have meaningful ripple effects on intimate and social aspects of patients' lives. This research matters because it highlights that the impact of atopic dermatitis goes well beyond physical symptoms like itching and rashes, extending into deeply personal areas such as intimacy and self-image. It suggests that healthcare providers may benefit from asking patients about sexual well-being as part of understanding the full burden of the disease, and that advanced treatments may offer improvements in quality of life that extend beyond what standard skin assessments capture.
Asamoah N, Bakshi D, Buentiempo J, Abu-Hilal M. (2025). Patients' Perception of the Impact of Moderate to Severe Atopic Dermatitis on Their Sexual Well-Being: Comparison of Pre- and Posttreatment with Advanced Therapies.. Dermatitis : contact, atopic, occupational, drug. https://doi.org/10.1089/derm.2024.0362