Objective: The mothers of children diagnosed with atopic dermatitis (AD) may be impacted in many different ways. Aim of the present study was to compare quality of life, anxiety, depression, and alexithymia symptoms between mothers of children diagnosed with AD and mothers of healthy children.
Method: The study included 34 mothers of children who were diagnosed with AD between June 2012 and July 2013 and 35 mothers of healthy children. In the study, Short Form 36 (SF-36) Health Survey was used to evaluate quality of life, while the Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS) was used to evaluate alexithymia level, the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) was used to evaluate anxiety symptoms, and the Beck Depression Scale (BDS) was used to evaluate depression symptoms.
Results: There was no statistically significant difference between the mothers of AD patients and control subjects in terms of quality of life, anxiety, depression, and alexithymia. In addition, there was no significant difference in disease severity or symptoms scale scores between the two groups.
Conclusion: These results may suggest that mothersÂ’ mental health is not affected in the early stage of the disease. In later stages of the disease, mothers of children with AD may become psychologically affected. Long-term follow up studies are required to clarify this distinction.
Key words: Alexithymia, atopic dermatitis, psychopathology, quality of life
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