Sleep quality in parents with children affected by psoriasis, psoriatic arthritis or atopic dermatitis: a multicenter cross-sectional study

Background: Psoriasis (PsO), Psoriatic arthritis (PsA), and Atopic dermatitis (AD) patients have an increased risk of sleep disorders. Although sleep disturbances are well-known among patients, caregivers’ oneiric evaluation remains poorly assessed. The objective was to quantify the sleep burden of parents with affected children. Methods: In this multicenter cross-sectional study, we enrolled sex-age matched parents with children affected by PsO, PsA, and AD. Both parents underwent the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index to determine their sleep quality. Results: We enrolled a total of 90 children (age 12.36±1.83 years, 45 male and 45 female) with psoriasis (n=30, PASI 7.00±2.49), atopic dermatitis (n=30, SCORAD 33.13±10.03), and psoriatic arthritis (n=30, DAPSA 26.40±10.94). Patients’ Parents (age 49.83±6.69 years, 45 male and 45 female) had a PSQI of 6.17±1.91; hence 70.0%, 73.3%, and 96.7% had a bad quality of sleep, respectively, with children suffering from atopic dermatitis, psoriasis, and psoriatic arthritis. Parents with children affected by psoriasis (6.23±2.46) or by psoriatic arthritis (6.73±1.42) had lower PSQI than the ones with atopic dermatitis (5.53±1.55). Interestingly, children with PsA had parents with higher risk of sleep disturbances (OR 52.25 [95%CI 1.92-1,422.66], p=0.0189), and male gender was protective (OR 0.14 [95%CI 0.02-0.86], p=0.0337). Conclusions: The sleep quality of parents is deeply influenced by the dermatological/rheumatological disease in children but not by its duration. Thus, sleep evaluation in caregivers should be part of routine patient check-ups with PsO, PsA, and AD.