Adherence to Systemic Therapy for Atopic Dermatitis in Adult Patients in Saudi Arabia: A Cross-Sectional Study

Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a chronic inflammatory skin disease that significantly impacts both pediatrics and adults. Despite the availability and proven efficacy of systemic medications, there remains a critical issue of non-adherence among patients. This study aimed to assess adherence to systemic therapy among Saudi adult patients with AD.

The study employed a cross-sectional study with an online questionnaire that was distributed among a convenience sample of 1,154 adult patients with AD in Saudi Arabia. In addition to descriptive statistical analysis, Pearson's correlation and chi-squared tests were used to determine the correlations between adherence to systemic therapy for AD and its predictable factors.

AD was diagnosed over five years in 61.3% of the participants. The vast majority of those diagnosed with AD (73%) were prescribed systemic medications, with a moderate level of adherence to this therapy. While adherence to systemic therapy significantly correlated with improved quality of life, factors including forgetfulness, side effect concerns, patient's belief in medication importance, disease severity, and medication complexity impacted adherence to this mode of therapy. Factors including patient's belief in medication importance, disease severity, and medication complexity impacted adherence.

The findings of this study highlight the need for multifaceted interventions to improve adherence to systemic therapy for AD. Addressing patient concerns about the use of systemic therapy for AD and reinforcing the importance of medication use for long-term disease management and quality-of-life improvement is recommended to explore the barriers to adherence and enhance compliance to systemic therapy in this population.