{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,3]],"date-time":"2025-10-03T00:37:18Z","timestamp":1759451838107,"version":"build-2065373602"},"reference-count":30,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"10","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,2]],"date-time":"2025-10-02T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1759363200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["www.mdpi.com"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Medicina"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Background and objectives: Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a chronic inflammatory skin disease that affects not only physical health but also psychological well-being. While the emotional and social burden of AD is well documented, there is still limited research on how AD affects sexual health. The study aimed to evaluate quality of life (QoL), mental health, and risk factors for impaired sexual life, as well as their relationships. Materials and Methods: A total of 201 participants (96 patients with AD and 105 healthy controls) were enrolled in the study. Socio-demographic and clinical data were obtained using a specifically developed questionnaire. In addition, participants completed validated scales, including the DLQI, HADS, FSFI, IIEF-5, and SRSLQ. AD severity was assessed using the SCORAD questionnaire. Results: Our study found that patients with AD had statistically significantly higher mean anxiety (6.8 \u00b1 3.6 vs. 5.0 \u00b1 3.2; p &lt; 0.001), depression (5.2 \u00b1 3.4 vs. 3.9 \u00b1 2.9, p &lt; 0.01), and skin-related sexual dysfunction scores (15.0 \u00b1 4.5 vs. 4.4 \u00b1 4.7, p &lt; 0.001), as well as QoL scores (12.3 \u00b1 6.1 vs. 1.8 \u00b1 3.1, p &lt; 0.001), than healthy controls. Female AD patients reported higher values of depression and anxiety compared to male patients (5.9 \u00b1 3.1 vs. 4.4 \u00b1 3.5, p = 0.03, 7.6 \u00b1 2.9 vs. 6.0 \u00b1 4.1, p = 0.03, respectively) and lower FSFI scores compared to healthy women (24.8 \u00b1 8.0 vs. 31.3 \u00b1 3.0, p &lt; 0.001). Deterioration in sexual health, assessed by the SRSLQ score, was strongly correlated with QoL impairment (R = 0.5, p &lt; 0.001), anxiety (R = 0.51, p &lt; 0.001), and depression (R = 0.5, p &lt; 0.001). Finally, we found that sex life negatively correlates with AD severity (p=0.001), involvement of a genital area (p = 0.005), intensity of pruritus (r = 0.284, p = 0.005), and insomnia (r = 0.366, p &lt; 0.001). Conclusions: AD significantly affects patients\u2019 quality of life, including their sex life. Many factors associated with the disease also contribute to the deterioration of patients\u2019 sexual health. Routine assessment of sexual life in dermatological practice, using validated tools, could facilitate early identification and support for affected patients. Significance: This study highlights the often-overlooked impact of atopic dermatitis on patients\u2019 sexual health. Our findings demonstrate that sexual function is significantly impaired in individuals with atopic dermatitis\u2014particularly among women\u2014and that such dysfunction is closely associated with disease-related symptoms. These results have important implications for improving the quality of care provided to individuals affected by the condition.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/medicina61101782","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,2]],"date-time":"2025-10-02T08:20:28Z","timestamp":1759393228000},"page":"1782","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Sexual Health in Patients with Atopic Dermatitis: A Cross-Sectional Study"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"61","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-6649-2915","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Natalia","family":"Ju\u015bko","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Dermatology and Venereology, Stefan Zeromski Municipal Hospital, 31-913 Krak\u00f3w, Poland"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Magdalena","family":"Masajada","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Dermatology and Venereology, Stefan Zeromski Municipal Hospital, 31-913 Krak\u00f3w, Poland"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Anna","family":"\u017bab\u00f3wka","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Dermatology and Venereology, Stefan Zeromski Municipal Hospital, 31-913 Krak\u00f3w, Poland"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Adam","family":"\u0106miel","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Applied Mathematics, AGH University of Science and Technology, 30-059 Krak\u00f3w, Poland"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Pawe\u0142","family":"Brzewski","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Dermatology and Venereology, Stefan Zeromski Municipal Hospital, 31-913 Krak\u00f3w, Poland"},{"name":"Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Andrzej Frycz Modrzewski Krakow University, 30-705 Krak\u00f3w, Poland"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-5573-1754","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Adam","family":"Reich","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Dermatology, Faculty of Medicine, Medical College of Rzesz\u00f3w University, 35-055 Rzesz\u00f3w, Poland"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,2]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"25","DOI":"10.1016\/j.alit.2021.10.002","article-title":"Exacerbating factors and disease burden in patients with atopic dermatitis","volume":"71","author":"Murota","year":"2022","journal-title":"Allergol. 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