Burden of chronic skin disease from an Asian perspective: Assessment of health state utilities and quality of life in a Singapore cohort
Background: Understanding health state utilities of skin diseases is essential for health economic evaluations in an era of rising health care costs. Objective: To create a catalog of utility values of chronic skin diseases among Asians. Methods: This is a cross-sectional study of adults attending a dermatology outpatient clinic from February 2019 to March 2023 with one of the following skin diseases: (1) eczema, (2) psoriasis, (3) acne vulgaris, (4) chronic urticaria, (5) pigmentary disorders, (6) hair loss, (7) viral warts, (8) fungal infections, and (9) keloids. Demographic and socioeconomic information was collected. Health status and utilities (Dermatology Life Quality Index, Skindex-16, EuroQol-5 Dimension, visual analog scale, time-trade-off, and willingness-to-pay) were measured. Results: A total of 183 patients with a median age of 35.5 (21-77 years) years were included. Majority (76.9%) were Chinese, followed by Malays (11.5%). The time-trade-off utilities were lower than EuroQol-5 Dimension utilities across all disease severity and most skin diseases. Patients were willing to pay $740 USD or more for a hypothetical drug to cure conditions such as psoriasis, acne, hair loss, and keloids. Limitations: Limited sample size and ethnic representation. Conclusions: This study provides a catalog of utilities in skin diseases and highlights the strengths and challenges of different measures.
