Trust in skincare and topical therapies in atopic dermatitis or psoriasis: a German cross-sectional study

Trust in therapy impacts adherence and satisfaction in chronic inflammatory skin diseases, including atopic dermatitis (AD) and psoriasis (PSO). This study assessed and compared trust in skincare and topical therapies and explored influencing factors among AD and PSO patients.

Cross-sectional surveys of AD or PSO patients were conducted at two dermatological university centers in Germany. Group differences were analyzed using Mann-Whitney U and Kruskal-Wallis tests; associations between trust (6-point Likert scale: 1 = very high, 6 = none) and demographics, disease severity, pruritus, pain, and quality of life (QoL) using Spearman correlations. All analyses were exploratory.

Among 253 AD or PSO patients (median age 53.0 years, interquartile range 36.0-63.0; 43.9% female) median trust in skin care and topical therapies was moderate. AD patients reported significantly higher trust than PSO patients. In AD, trust in skin care correlated with pruritus intensity (p < 0.001), pain intensity (p < 0.05), and QoL (p < 0.001); trust in topical therapy correlated with QoL (p < 0.01). No significant correlations were observed in PSO.

Trust levels were higher in AD than in PSO but tended to decline with increasing disease burden and poorer QoL. Enhancing patient education and shared decision-making may help improve trust and adherence.