Chronic Spontaneous Urticaria: Quality of Life and Economic Impacts.

This study focuses on quality of life (QoL) assessment in chronic urticaria, delving into tools, disease-specific measures, and its profound impact. With expanding therapeutic options, understanding QoL becomes crucial. QoL measures often involve comparisons of patient-reported outcomes in addition to quantitative measures of disease control. Emerging tools include the Urticaria Activity and Impact Measure, which may provide a balanced evaluation. In addition to discussions of the various QoL measures, the psychological impact of chronic urticaria are highlighted, covering emotional burden, stress, and psychiatric comorbidities. Finally, the economic impacts reveal escalating health care costs and cost-effectiveness considerations of therapies like omalizumab.

Psychosocial factors and chronic spontaneous urticaria: a systematic review.

BACKGROUND: Psychosocial factors have been informally associated with Chronic Spontaneous Urticaria (CSU); however, the relationship between psychosocial factors and CSU remains relatively unexplored in the scientific literature. OBJECTIVE: This review aims to provide an evaluation of peer reviewed studies exploring psychosocial factors and CSU. METHODS: A systematic search was performed over four databases identifying studies exploring psychosocial factors in relation to CSU published between the years 1995 and 2022. RESULTS: Eighteen studies were included for narrative analysis, and 33 psychosocial factors were identified. These were split into two subgroups: psychosocial factors that were associated with CSU symptoms aggravation/onset (n = 20), and psychosocial factors expected to be impacted by CSU symptoms (n = 13). CONCLUSION: This review has highlighted a need for more research and interventions to support individuals with psychosocial factors involved in CSU.

Psychological burden of COVID-19 on mild and moderate chronic spontaneous urticaria

Background: The impact of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) related mental health status on chronic spontaneous urticaria (CSU) has not been addressed before. Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the depression, anxiety and stress levels, and the fear of COVID-19 in patients with mild-to-moderate CSU and to determine their impact on urticaria activity during the pandemic. Methods: A total of 509 patients with mild-to-moderate CSU were prospectively evaluated with validated scales, the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale 21 (DASS-21) and the Fear of COVID-19 Scale (FCV-19S) during the lockdown period (LP) and the return to normal period (RTNP). CSU activity was determined with the urticaria activity score summed over 7 days (UAS7) and medication scores (MS). UAS7 and MS before the pandemic were retrospectively collected from medical records. Results: The median UAS7 and MS were both significantly higher in the LP than in the median of related scores during the prepandemic period (p < 0.0001) and the RTNP (p < 0.0001). The mean FCV-19S and DASS-21 scores were both significantly higher in the LP than in the RTNP (p < 0.0001). The FCV-19S and the DASS-21 anxiety and stress subscales were significantly higher in women. The UAS7s were positively correlated with the FCV-19S and depression, anxiety, and stress subscale scores. Conclusion: Fear of COVID-19, anxiety, depression, and stress during the COVID-19 pandemic, especially when strict isolation measures are taken, have a significant impact on mental health and urticaria activity in patients with mild-to-moderate CSU, even though they are not infected. Psychological support for patients with CSU seems to be important to control disease activity during the pandemic.

Case Report: Omalizumab for Chronic Spontaneous Urticaria in Pregnancy.

Most chronic spontaneous urticaria (CSU) patients are female, and pregnancy can aggravate the disease activity of patients, but little is known about the efficacy and safety of omalizumab in pregnant CSU patients. We report two pregnant CSU patients treated with omalizumab and review the published information on omalizumab treatment during 11 pregnancies. The outcomes reported on patients with known pregnancies showed they had normal pregnancies and healthy babies as well as complete control of their CSU. The two new cases we reported support the view that omalizumab could be an effective and safe treatment option for pregnant and breastfeeding CSU patients. Further high-quality studies need to be carried out in order to obtain more information on the long-term efficacy and safety of the use of omalizumab during pregnancy in patients with chronic urticaria, including CSU.

The association of chronic spontaneous urticaria (CSU) with anxiety and depression: a nationwide cohort study.

Chronic spontaneous urticaria (CSU) is a dermatological disease associated with significant impairment of overall quality of life as well as psychological distress. Previous studies have demonstrated significant comorbidity between CSU and a wide range of mental illnesses. In this study we aimed to focus on the association between CSU and anxiety and depression, using an optimized matched controlled design. A nationwide matched control study was conducted using the Clalit Health Services (CHS) database. The study included 12,539 CSU patients and 60,510 age and sex matched controls. Three multiple logistic regression models were conducted to assess the association between CSU and anxiety and depression, while adjusting for age, sex, socioeconomic status (SES), diabetes, obesity, hypertension, and smoking status. A higher frequency of anxiety and depression was found in CSU patients compared to that in controls (anxiety frequency of 9.6% vs. 5.7%, p < 0.001; depression frequency of 11% vs 7.9%, p < 0.001, respectively) after adjustment for demographic and clinical factors. The association of CSU with anxiety was the strongest in the 18-29 age group, and in the high SES group, while the association of CSU with depression was the highest in the 50-69 age group, and in the low SES group. Chronic spontaneous urticaria is associated with anxiety and depression. In light of the clinical implications of a comorbid mental disorder, dermatologists should consider employing mental health screening procedures, especially for patients from specific risk groups.

Targeted Therapy for Chronic Spontaneous Urticaria: Rationale and Recent Progress.

Chronic spontaneous urticaria (CSU) is characterized by the presence of wheals, angioedema, or both for at least 6 weeks. It may persist for a long time-up to 50% of the patients have been reported to be symptomatic 5 years after the onset. Some patients can suffer more than one episode of CSU during their lifetime. Considering the recurrences, disabling symptoms, and significant impact on quality of life, proper and effective treatment of CSU is critical. The use of antihistamines (AHs) is still the mainstay of treatment. However, given the low rates of response to AHs (38.6% and 63.2% to standard doses and higher doses, respectively), the complete control of symptoms seems difficult to attain. The use of omalizumab for CSU has been a major breakthrough in the care of patients with CSU. However, the partial response and lack of response to omalizumab in a subgroup of patients, as high as 70% in some studies, make the development of alternative treatments desirable. Ever-increasing knowledge on the pathogenesis is making new target molecules available and enabling drug development for CSU. In addition to drug repurposing as in anti-IL-4/13, IL-5, and IL-17 antibodies, novel targeted therapy options such as ligelizumab and Bruton's tyrosine kinase inhibitors are currently undergoing clinical trials and will be available in the near future. This article reviews the current challenges in the treatment of CSU, the pathogenesis and potential target molecules, and the rationale for novel treatments and their rapidly developing status.

Anxiety, depression, and stress in Korean patients with chronic urticaria.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Emotional distress is thought to cause or maintain chronic urticaria (CU). We aimed to investigate the presence of anxiety, depression, and stress in Korean adult CU patients and to explore their potential impact on treatment. METHODS: We enrolled 79 CU patients and a disease control group comprising 39 persistent asthma patients. The Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) was used to evaluate depression and anxiety. Stress and quality of life (QoL) were assessed by Stress Response Inventory and CU-QoL questionnaires. The sociodemographic and clinical data such as urticaria activity score (UAS-15, UAS-6) were obtained. RESULTS: The prevalence of depression and anxiety based on the HADS were 48.1% and 38.0%. Although the prevalence of anxiety didn't differ between the CU and asthma patients, depression was significantly more prevalent in the CU patients (48.1% vs. 28.2%). Stress tended to be lower in CU patients. Anxiety, depression, and stress exhibited negative correlations with QoL. Anxiety showed significant correlation with UAS-6 and pruritus-visual analog scale (VAS; r = 0.256, r = 0.272, p < 0.05, respectively); depression correlated with sleep difficulty-VAS (r = 0.261, p < 0.05). Stress was associated with UAS-15, UAS-6, pruritus-VAS, and sleep difficulty-VAS (r = 0.251, r = 0.317, r = 0.302, r = 0.258, p < 0.05, respectively). CONCLUSION: The current study first presented that Korean CU patients frequently have anxiety and depression, which affect their QoL and demonstrated that anxiety, depression, and stress had different effects on sleep difficulty, pruritus, and urticaria severity in Korean CU patients.

Chronic urticaria in the real-life clinical practice setting in the UK: results from the noninterventional multicentre AWARE study.

BACKGROUND: Chronic urticaria (CU) is a skin condition characterized by repeated occurrence of itchy weals and/or angio-oedema for > 6 weeks. AIM: To provide data demonstrating the real-life burden of CU in the UK. METHODS: This UK subset of the worldwide, prospective, noninterventional AWARE study included patients aged 18-75 years diagnosed with H1-antihistamine (H1-AH)-refractory chronic spontaneous urticaria (CSU) for > 2 months. Baseline characteristics, disease activity, treatments, comorbidities and healthcare resource use were documented. Quality of life (QoL), work productivity and activity impairment were assessed. RESULTS: Baseline analysis included 252 UK patients. Mean age and body mass index were 45.0 years and 29.0 kg/m2 , respectively. Most patients were female (77.8%) and had moderate/severe disease activity (mean Urticaria Activity Score over 7 days was 18.4) and a 'spontaneous' component to their CU (73.4% CSU; 24.6% CSU and chronic inducible urticaria). Common comorbidities included depression/anxiety (24.6%), asthma (23.8%) and allergic rhinitis (12.7%). A previous treatment was recorded for 57.9% of patients. Mean Dermatology Life Quality Index score was 9.5, and patients reported impairments in work productivity and activity. Healthcare resource use was high. Severity of CSU was associated with female sex, obesity, anxiety and diagnosis. Only 28.5% of patients completed all nine study visits, limiting analysis of long-term treatment patterns and disease impact. CONCLUSIONS: Adult H1-AH-refractory patients with CU in the UK reported high rates of healthcare resource use and impairment in QoL, work productivity and activity at baseline. The differing structures of UK healthcare may explain the high study discontinuation rates versus other countries.

Frequency of depression and anxiety among patients with chronic spontaneous urticaria visiting a tertiary care hospital in Karachi, Pakistan.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the frequency of anxiety and depression among chronic spontaneous urticarial patients presenting at a tertiary care hospital. METHODS: The prospective, cross-sectional study was conducted at the Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi, from February to August 2015, and comprised patients diagnosed with chronic spontaneous urticaria at the dermatology clinic. All the participants were assessed for anxiety and depression using Aga Khan University-Anxiety Depression Scale. Data was collected in face-to-face interview using a structured questionnaire. The association of the condition with different characteristics were calculated after stratification for age, gender, occupation and monthly income. SPSS 19 was used for data analysis.. RESULTS: Of the 146 study participants, 84(57.5%) were males and 62(42.5%) were females. The overall mean age was 39±15.6 years. Of the total, 39(26.7%) had depression and anxiety. Depression and anxiety were more frequent among patients with a positive family history of mental disorders (p=0.02). CONCLUSION: Anxiety and depression were found to be considerably common among chronic spontaneous urticaria patients, with patients having a positive family history for mental illnesses particularly vulnerable.

Patients with chronic urticaria have a higher risk of psychiatric disorders: a population-based study.

BACKGROUND: The prevalence of psychiatric comorbidities in patients with chronic urticaria (CU) in a national population is largely unknown. OBJECTIVES: To investigate the prevalence of psychiatric disorders and psychiatric medication use in patients with CU in Taiwan. METHODS: Data were sourced from Taiwan's National Health Insurance Research Database for 2011. Patients who had a primary/secondary International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, Clinical Modification diagnosis code of 708·1, 708·8 or 708·9 during 2011 with at least two outpatient visits and an antihistamine prescription were identified as CU cases. Patients with CU were classified into three disease severity groups according to their medication types. Psychiatric disorders were identified by patients having three outpatient visits with a primary or secondary diagnosis of a given psychiatric disease. Psychiatric medication use was defined by having at least four outpatient visits with prescriptions for anxiolytics, antidepressants or sleeping pills in 2010 or 2011. RESULTS: Of the 167 132 patients with CU, 82·5% had mild CU, 17·0% had moderate CU and 0·4% had severe CU. Patients with CU had a higher prevalence of psychiatric disorders and psychiatric medication prescription than control groups. The relative risk (RR) of psychiatric disorders was 1·43 for patients with mild, 1·50 for patients with moderate and 2·32 for patients with severe CU vs. the controls (P < 0·001). For psychiatric medication prescription, the RRs were 1·95, 2·70 and 2·09, respectively, vs. controls (P < 0·001). CONCLUSIONS: Patients with CU had a higher prevalence and risk of psychiatric disorders and psychiatric medication prescription than control groups. What's already known about this topic? Previous studies have shown a high prevalence of psychiatric comorbidities in patients with chronic urticaria (CU), with rates ranging from 35% to 60%. Anxiety, depression and somatoform disorders have been reported as the most prevalent mental disorders in patients with CU. What does this study add? Patients with CU had a higher prevalence of psychiatric disorders and psychiatric medication use than control groups in the general population. The relative risk (RR) of psychiatric disorders was 1·43 for those with mild CU, 1·50 for those with moderate CU and 2·32 for those with severe CU vs. controls. The RR for psychiatric medication use was 1·95 for those with mild CU, 2·70 for those with moderate CU and 2·09 for those with severe CU vs. controls. Mental health evaluations and management are important elements in CU management.

The expression of serotonin transporter protein in the skin of patients with chronic spontaneous urticaria and its relation with depression and anxiety.

Studies have indicated a possible role for serotonin transporter protein (SERT) in the pathophysiology of inflammatory skin disorders. This study was aimed to determine the expression of SERT in the skin of patients with chronic spontaneous urticaria (CSU) and its relation to depression and anxiety. In this case-control study, 30 CSU patients and 30 healthy controls were evaluated with skin biopsies to evaluate the expression of the SERT protein based on histopathologic findings. Beck depression and anxiety inventories were used to investigate depression and anxiety in the case group. Data were analyzed by SPSS software. P values < 0.05 were considered significant. The case group showed significantly higher percentage of stained cells (P < 0.0001) and intensity of SERT expression (P < 0.0001) compared with the control group. The patients with uncontrolled CSU showed significantly higher percentage (P < 0.002) and intensity (P < 0.006) of SERT expression, compared with those with controlled CSU. The intensity of SERT expression in CSU patients had no significant correlation with the severity of depression, but was significantly correlated with the severity of anxiety (r = 0.555; P = 0.001). The percentage of stained cells was significantly correlated with the severities of depression (r = - 0.433; P = 0.017) and anxiety (r = 0.528; P = 0.003). The SERT expression in patients with CSU was higher compared with controls, which can demonstrate the role of serotonin in the pathogenesis of this disease. This higher SERT expression is correlated with the severity of the disease.

Perspectives on Living with Chronic Spontaneous Urticaria: From Onset through Diagnosis and Disease Management in the US.

Chronic spontaneous urticaria is challenging to manage and substantially affects quality of life. This US, non-interventional qualitative study examined patients' clinical journeys and emotional burden from symptom onset through disease management. Chronic spontaneous urticaria patients participated in interviews and completed diaries focusing on disease and treatment history/perspectives, impact on personal/family life, and relationships with physicians/other healthcare providers. Physicians were interviewed about their views on disease management and patient care. Twenty-five patients, previously or currently receiving chronic spontaneous urticaria treatment(s), and 12 physicians participated. Key stages following symptom onset were identified: Crisis (associated with feelings of torment/disorientation/shock); Searching for answers (puzzlement/frustration/anxiety); Diagnosis (relief/satisfaction/fear/isolation); and Disease management (frustration/hope/powerlessness). Findings revealed patients' perceptions and experiences of chronic spontaneous urticaria, including living with a 'skinemy', experiencing their 'own personal hell' and feeling 'like an experiment'. Awareness of unmet needs in patient care/management identified in this study may ultimately improve patient support and enhance physicians' understanding of disease burden.

Exploring the real-world profile of refractory and non-refractory chronic idiopathic urticaria in the USA: clinical burden and healthcare resource use.

Introduction: Chronic idiopathic/spontaneous urticaria (CIU/CSU) is a debilitating skin condition that is burdensome for patients and healthcare providers. We aimed to describe clinical characteristics, consultation patterns and healthcare resource utilization in real-world US patients with refractory and non-refractory CIU/CSU. Methods: Data was collected from the Adelphi Real World 2015 Urticaria Disease Specific Programme. Physicians completed patient record forms (PRFs) for the next four patients consulting with non-refractory CIU/CSU and the next six with refractory CIU/CSU; patients were considered refractory if symptomatic and on treatment step ≥2. The same patients were asked to complete patient self-completion (PSC) forms describing how CIU/CSU affected them. Results: Seventeen physicians (15 allergists; 2 dermatologists) completed 184 PRFs (108 refractory CIU/CSU; 76 non-refractory CIU/CSU); 140 patients completed PSC forms (93 refractory CIU/CSU; 47 non-refractory CIU/CSU). Mean time from first consultation to diagnosis was 13.5 (SD 28.3) weeks; mean time from diagnosis to first treatment was 16.0 (SD 37.9) weeks. Patients with refractory CIU/CSU were more likely to initially consult primary care physicians than those with non-refractory CIU/CSU (51% and 28%, respectively). The most common symptoms were itching, sleep problems and anxiety/distress, affecting 75%, 23% and 18%, respectively. Patient-perceived disease severity was greater than physician-perceived severity (refractory CIU/CSU kappa 0.1512; non-refractory CIU/CSU 0.1590). Conclusions: Patients with CIU/CSU in this real-world study - particularly those with refractory CIU/CSU - were slow to receive specialist care and had substantial symptom burdens; patient-physician perception of disease severity was discordant. Earlier diagnosis of CIU/CSU may lead to timely use of CIU/CSU therapies.

Humanistic Burden of Refractory and Nonrefractory Chronic Idiopathic Urticaria: A Real-world Study in the United States.

PURPOSE: Chronic idiopathic urticaria (CIU) is a debilitating skin condition that can profoundly affect patients' quality of life. This study explored the impact of refractory and nonrefractory CIU on patients in the real-world setting in the United States. METHODS: Data were collected from the Adelphi Real World 2015 Urticaria Disease-Specific Programme. Physicians completed patient record forms (PRFs) for 4 consecutive patients consulting with nonrefractory CIU and 6 patients with refractory CIU. The PRF included information on patient characteristics, medication, and disease severity; physicians were asked about the impact of CIU on patients, and to rate their satisfaction with patients' treatment (scale, 1-7 [1 = extremely dissatisfied and 7 = extremely satisfied]). The same patients were asked to complete a patient self-completion form (PSC). This included questions regarding how CIU affected their everyday life and their satisfaction with and understanding of their condition and medications. The PSC included a number of patient-reported outcomes measures: the Dermatology Life Quality Index (scored from 0 to 30, with higher scores indicating greater impact), the Work Productivity and Activity Impairment (4 scores calculated [absenteeism, presenteeism, work productivity loss, and activity impairment], each scored from 0% to 100% after transformation, with higher scores indicating greater impairment), and the Jenkins Sleep Scale (assessed over 30 days; scored from 0 to 20, with higher scores indicating greater sleep disturbance). Completion of the PSC was voluntary. FINDINGS: Seventeen physicians completed a total of 184 PRFs (108 for patients with refractory CIU; 76 for those with nonrefractory CIU); 140 of these 184 patients completed a PSC form (93 with refractory CIU; 47 with nonrefractory CIU). Overall, 26% of the entire population (30% of patients with refractory CIU and 17% with nonrefractory CIU) reported that skin symptoms had a great effect on their lives (Dermatology Life Quality Index score ≥11). Sleep problems were common: mean Jenkins Sleep Scale scores were 7.8 overall (8.1 for patients with refractory CIU and 7.2 for those with nonrefractory CIU). Overall work impairment was 19% in the overall population, with similar values in refractory and nonrefractory patients (18% and 20%, respectively). Physician satisfaction with disease control was not high, with physicians reporting a mean score of 4.8 on a 7-point scale. Twenty-one percent of patients were extremely dissatisfied, very dissatisfied, or dissatisfied with their treatment, and 52% believed better control could be achieved. IMPLICATIONS: The humanistic burden of CIU is high. There is clearly a need for better management of CIU to improve outcomes for patients.

Psychometric properties of the portuguese version of the chronic urticaria quality of life questionnaire (CU-Q2oL).

BACKGROUND: Chronic urticaria is defined as the appearance of urticarial lesions and/or angioedema during a period of more than six weeks. We aimed at developing the Portuguese version of the Chronic Urticaria Quality of Life Questionnaire (CU-Q2oL) and at testing its reliability and the content, construct and criterion validity. METHODS: The forward-backward approach to a linguistic equivalence was followed, after which a clinical review and a cognitive debriefing with patients were performed. The intraclass correlation coefficient checked test-retest reliability with patients filling the same questionnaire with one week apart and the Cronbach's alpha indicator assessed the internal consistency. Construct validity was tested by an exploratory factor analysis and by hypothesis tests involving sociodemographic and clinical patient characteristics, including the urticaria control test (UCT). On the other hand, criterion validity was tested through correlations with the Short-Form Health Survey SF-36, EQ-5D-5 L, and the Dermatology Quality of Life Index (DLQI). RESULTS: A total of 162 patients from seven hospital units were included. The mean (standard deviation) age was 42.6 (13.3) and 81.6% were female. CU-Q2oL was entirely filled by all respondents. Internal consistency was 0.947 for the overall score, ranging from 0.661 (limits) to 0.899 (sleep problems) and the corresponding reproducibility indicator was 0.910, based on 23 patients and ranging from 0.711 (swelling) and 0.957 (looks). Exploratory factor analysis in general confirmed the original structure originally obtained by the authors. All CU-Q2oL dimensions were highly correlated with DLQI Index and differentiated well between males and females, and between different levels of wheals and pruritus. In addition, moderate negative correlations were found between Cu-Q2oL scores and the dimensions from SF-36 and EQ-5D-5 L. CONCLUSIONS: The satisfactory metric properties confirmed the cultural adaptation and validity of CU-Q2oL into Portuguese population, providing the clinicians with a valid tool to evaluate the impact of chronic urticaria on patient's QoL and therefore adjust their treatment. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: Not applicable.