Patterns of the psycho-emotional state in patients with atopic dermatitis

Patterns of the psycho-emotional state in patients with atopic dermatitis

D.A. Mukhacheva, K.I. Raznatovsky, A.V. Sobolev I.I.

Mechnikov North-Western State Medical University, St. Petersburg 

Aim: to assess the level of serotonin in adult patients with atopic dermatitis (AD) and to study their psycho-emotional state depending on the concentration of serum serotonin during AD exacerbation and remission.

Patients and Methods: 168 patients with AD selected as a result of screening — 105 (62.5%) female patients and 63 (37.5%) male patients aged 18 to 84 years (mean age 34.9±13.5 years) underwent psychodiagnostic (indicators of life quality, anxiety and depression) and clinical laboratory examination in the follow-up (at the exacerbation stage and at discharge (achieving remission)). To detect the association of serotonin content in acute AD with the indicator of the patient’s psycho-emotional state, all patients, depending on the serum serotonin content, were divided into subgroups: subgroup 1 (n=85) — with serum serotonin content above the reference values; subgroup 2 (n=6) — with serum serotonin content below the level of reference values; subgroup 3 (n=77) — with AD and serum serotonin content at the stage of hospitalization within the reference values. The control group consisted of healthy volunteers (n=37, 21 (56.7%) women and 16 (43.2%) men, aged 18 to 74 years, mean age 37.1±15.6 years).

Results: evaluation of the results concerning psychodiagnostic and laboratory-clinical examination in the follow-up revealed a decrease in all indicators on the assessment scales of psycho-emotional state, serotonin content, as well as the spread area and severity of the rash at the stage of discharge versus the baseline values at the exacerbation stage. Nevertheless, the analysis of subgroups with different serotonin content in patients with AD demonstrated higher rates of anxiety and depression with a decrease in the Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI) in the subgroup with low serotonin content (subgroup 1) versus the control group and other subgroups.

Conclusion: the present study revealed a lower level of psycho-emotional state in patients with AD at the exacerbation stage of the pathological process, especially in the group with low serotonin levels (subgroup 1). The obtained data can serve as a basis for further use of serotonin as a biomarker of changes in the psycho-emotional state of patients and the AD severity.

Keywords: atopic dermatitis, biomarkers, neurotransmitters, serotonin, psycho-emotional state, quality of life.

For citation: Mukhacheva D.A., Raznatovsky K.I., Sobolev A.V. Patterns of the psycho-emotional state in patients with atopic dermatitis. RMJ. 2023;3:10–14.