The impact of sensitive skin on work productivity and health-related quality of life

Objective: Sensitive skin is known to have a negative impact on health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and daily activities, but what is not known is to what extent this condition affects individuals’ working life. The aim of the study was to evaluate the impact of sensitive skin on HRQoL and work productivity. Results: A total of 3048 participants completed the work productivity and activity impairment (WPAI) and the AQoL-4D online, (1964 females, 64.4%) with almost equal numbers of participants self-reporting sensitive or non-sensitive skin. Self-reported sensitive skin was associated with poorer HRQoL, particularly mental health. HRQOL showed a positive linear relationship with participant age. Self-reported sensitive skin was associated with higher levels of absenteeism (11%); Presenteeism (19%); Work Impairment (25%) and Overall Activity Impairment (20%). On average, participants with self-reported sensitive skin missed 4.55 working hours per week compared to 2.4 hours for those not reporting sensitive skin (p<0.0001). This study demonstrated that sensitive skin has a significant detrimental impact on individuals. It extends previous research that has focussed on quality of life and daily activities, to underline the negative affect of sensitive skin on work productivity, highlighting the burden of sensitive at both a humanistic and economic level.