Study Finds Treat-to-Target Goals Remain Difficult to Achieve in Atopic Dermatitis

Most adults with atopic dermatitis (AD) receiving long-term treatment did not achieve a comprehensive treat-to-target goal that incorporated both physician- and patient-reported outcomes, according to a real-world cross-sectional study.

Investigators evaluated 100 adults with AD who had received treatment for at least 6 months. The predefined treatment targets included Patient Global Assessment ≤2, Eczema Area and Severity Index ≤7, Pruritus Visual Analog Scale score ≤4, Patient-Oriented Eczema Measure ≤7, and Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI) ≤5.

Overall, only 30% of patients met all 5 treatment targets, highlighting the challenges of achieving comprehensive disease control in routine clinical practice.

Multivariable analysis identified increasing age as a factor associated with successful target attainment. Each additional year of age modestly increased the likelihood of achieving all treatment goals (adjusted odds ratio, 1.04; 95% CI, 1.00-1.09).Among the evaluated outcome measures, DLQI demonstrated the strongest predictive value. Receiver operating characteristic analysis showed that DLQI “could favorably predict the achievement of all 5 treatment targets,” with an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of 0.93 (95% CI, 0.88-0.97).

Although treatment groups did not differ significantly overall, the proportion of patients achieving all 5 targets was highest among those receiving dupilumab, followed by patients treated with Janus kinase inhibitors.

Additional analyses underscored the importance of patient-reported outcomes. Latent class analysis identified a subgroup of patients who achieved favorable skin control despite persistently poor quality of life. Principal component analysis further demonstrated that “life quality-related factors other than the severity of skin lesions explained the majority of variance.”

The investigators concluded that “achievement of targeted combined endpoints in AD remains suboptimal, partly due to life quality-related factors.”

Reference

Chen YW, Chen YH, Yen TH, et al. Achieving targeted combined endpoints in patients with atopic dermatitis: a real-world study. J Dermatol. Published online July 3, 2026. doi:10.1111/1346-8138.70369