Sexual dysfunction and impaired sleep quality are common in AD patients. Dupilumab improves both, according to this study.
Atopic Dermatitis (AD) is a widespread chronic inflammatory skin condition characterized by pruriginous and eczematous lesions. It manifests with symptoms that significantly impact the patient’s quality of life (QoL) in multiple categories, including leisure, productivity, personal relationships, sexual performance, and sleep quality.
A study was performed in Spain to assess the impact of dupilumab on sexual and sleep quality in adults with AD. This study was published in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health and reported that dupilumab might improve sexual performance and sleep quality in AD individuals.
Atopic Dermatitis Patients Are More Prone to Sexual Dysfunction
It was determined that AD patients are more prone than healthy controls to report sexual dysfunction. The confluence of a pro-inflammatory state, aberrant hormone levels, and the psychological impact of eczema on genital areas may account for the high rates of sexual dysfunction observed by male and female AD patients.
Atopic Dermatitis Affects Quality of Life
Sleep deprivation is another factor that contributes to low QoL in AD patients. Sleep disturbance has been connected to AD, one of the most significant factors affecting the QoL in AD patients. Due to pruritus-induced nocturnal awakenings and protracted sleep induction, patients with AD exhibit daytime weariness, diminished productivity, and impaired focus.
Dupilumab Improves Atopic Dermatitis Symptoms
Most patients had severe disease, as shown by the mean eczema Area and Severity Index (EASI) score of 23.24 ± 6.74. The EASI improved significantly following 16 weeks of dupilumab treatment. Dupilumab also decreased the Investigator Global Assessment (IGA) score and Patient-Oriented Eczema Measure (POEM). In addition, the Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI) QoL score improved significantly.
Dupilumab Enhance Sexual performance
At baseline, 47.37% of women exhibited sexual dysfunction, according to the Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI) questionnaire, and 66.67% of males exhibited erectile dysfunction, according to the International Index of Erectile Dysfunction 5 (IIEF-5). After therapy with dupilumab, a general enhancement of sexual function was found; FSFI increased by 4.38 points (from 23.51 to 27.93; p = 0.008) and there was a significant improvement in desire, arousal, and pain.
Dupilumab Improves Sleep Quality
After therapy with dupilumab, sleep quality improved, as reflected by the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) scores, which dropped by 5.07 points (from 12.8 at baseline to 7.73; p < 0.001), on average. Most aspects of sleep quality, including subjective sleep quality, sleep latency, length, efficiency, and daytime dysfunction, improved significantly.
Dupilumab improved clinical AD scores, sexual function, and quality of sleep. Enhancement of sexual function in women was associated with a greater improvement in AD severity and QoL.
Further studies are needed to evaluate dupilumab’s effect on sexual QoL and gender differences.
Source:
Ureña-Paniego, C., Montero-Vílchez, T., Sanabria-de-la-Torre, R., Soto-Moreno, A., Molina-Leyva, A., & Arias-Santiago, S. (2023). Improvement of Sexual Function and Sleep Quality in Patients with Atopic Dermatitis Treated with Dupilumab: A Single-Centre Prospective Observational Study. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 20(3), 1918. MDPI AG. Retrieved from http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20031918
