Atopic Dermatitis Burden Among Families of Children Under 6 Years, with Amy S. Paller, MD

A study titled ‘Disease and family burden of moderate-to-severe atopic dermatitis in children aged <6 years: results from the PEDISTAD registry’ was presented at the Revolutionizing Atopic Dermatitis (RAD) 2025 Conference in Nashville.

To discuss the study’s findings, the HCPLive editorial team spoke with investigator Amy S. Paller, MD, chair of the department of dermatology, director of Skin Biology and Diseases Resource-Based Center, and Walter J. Hamlin Professor of Dermatology at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine. Paller was first asked about the study and its design.

“It's really important to understand what the burden of atopic dermatitis is, not just on the patients, but very importantly, also on the family,” Paller explained. “PEDISTAD is an ongoing, global, 10-year observational registry. It only enrolls patients less than 12 years of age, and particularly now, has been interested in those younger patients who are less than 6 years of age at enrollment. This is a study that's been going on now for several years. Of course, it will continue, but it is allowing us to look at many aspects, including not only how to compare treatments, but also what the burden is for the family.”

Paller was asked about some of the most notable findings from the ongoing study among children under the age of 6 years.

“Well, of course, in these patients, there is a range of of severity, but the EASI score itself is in a moderate range,” Paller said. “We're also looking at the fact that the dermatitis family index was quite high. If we look at the 0 to less than 2 years, if we look at the 2 to less than 4 years, if we look at the total patients who are in this, the majority of them actually had at least a moderate effect or a high effect on the family itself. [These data] really emphasize that it's not just the child, but also the family, that is very much impacted by this disease.”

Paller also noted her own questions she provides to family members when asking about the effects of atopic dermatitis on their children.

“One of my leading questions when I talk to parents is, are you sleeping much?” Paller explained. “Then it all comes out, of course, because with these younger children, we either have parents who are up and down all night trying to soothe, just sitting or lying in the bed of the child, or we have parents who are co-sleeping, and this happens all too often. It's not really good for the child and certainly not good for the parent.”

Paller highlighted the experiences reported by many parents who will lie in bed holding the hands of their children to prevent them from scratching and the resulting lack of sleep.

“One of the signs for me when these parents of young children come back is not just how the child is looking or how much itch you see but, more importantly, are you getting some sleep now?” Paller said.

To find out more about the PEDISTAD registry information, view Paller’s full video interview posted above. For any additional information on new atopic dermatitis data, view our latest conference coverage.

The quotes used in this summary were edited for clarity.