E-Mail karger@karger.com Original Paper Dermatology 2013;226:371–379 DOI: 10.1159/000351711 Disease Activity Only Moderately Correlates with Quality of Life Impairment in Patients with Chronic Spontaneous Urticaria I. Koti a, f K. Weller f M. Makris a, f E. Tiligada a, b T. Psaltopoulou c C. Papageorgiou d I. Baiardini g D. Panagiotakos e F. Braido g M. Maurer f a Allergy Unit ‘D. Kalogeromitros’, 2nd Department of Dermatology and Venereology, Attikon University Hospital, b Department of Pharmacology, c Department of Hygiene, Epidemiology and Medical Statistics and d University Mental Health Research Institute (UMHRI), Medical School, University of Athens, and e Department of Nutrition and Dietetics, Harokopio University, Athens, Greece; f Department of Dermatology and Allergy, Allergie-Centrum-Charité, Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany; g Allergy & Respiratory Diseases Clinic, University of Genova, Genova, Italy tal variance. The internal consistency was satisfactory with Cronbach’s α >0.7. Disease activity was the only predictor of quality of life impairment, but it only moderately correlated with the CU-Q 2 oL total score (r = 0.40, p < 0.0001). Conclu- sion: Our results suggest that there are additional factors to disease activity that are responsible for the pronounced re- duction of HRQoL in CSU, and this supports the recommen- dation to assess and monitor both disease activity and qual- ity of life in CSU patients. © 2013 S. Karger AG, Basel Introduction Chronic spontaneous urticaria (CSU) is a frequent skin disease that affects all age groups in both sexes. It is estimated that 0.5–1% of the population is suffering from CSU at any given time [1, 2]. The unclear origin of the disease in addition to the chronicity and the difficulties in obtaining adequate symptom control can discourage pa- tients and physicians and negatively affect their relation- ship [3–6]. Since the disease is often difficult to treat, the Key Words Chronic spontaneous urticaria · Disease activity · Quality of life · Chronic Urticaria Quality of Life Questionnaire · Dermatology Life Quality Index · Urticaria Activity Score Abstract Background: The impact of chronic spontaneous urticaria (CSU) on health-related quality of life (HRQoL) is widely held to be mainly influenced by disease activity and comorbidi- ties. Objective: To assess the correlation between disease activity and HRQoL impairment by using validated disease- specific instruments. Methods: The Chronic Urticaria Quality of Life Questionnaire (CU-Q 2 oL) was translated into Greek and subsequently applied to 110 CSU patients along with the Dermatology Life Quality Index and the Urticaria Activity Score. After the validity and reliability of the Greek CU-Q 2 oL had been determined, we assessed the relation between dis- ease activity and HRQoL impairment by computing correla- tions as well as by performing multiple regression analysis. Results: Exploratory factor analysis revealed a six-scale struc- ture of the Greek CU-Q 2 oL that explained 67.9% of its to- Received: January 14, 2013 Accepted after revision: April 19, 2013 Published online: August 10, 2013 Prof. Dr. Marcus Maurer Department of Dermatology and Allergy Allergie-Centrum-Charité, Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin Charitéplatz 1, DE–10117 Berlin (Germany) E-Mail marcus.maurer  @  charite.de © 2013 S. Karger AG, Basel 1018–8665/13/2264–0371$38.00/0 www.karger.com/drm Downloaded by: Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin 193.175.73.201 - 10/31/2013 10:30:18 AM