Insights into Patient Sentiment and Treatment Perceptions in Atopic Dermatitis from Online Forums

Understanding Treatment Experiences Through Online Discussions

JAK Inhibitors: The Preferred Choice Among Patients

The Role of Natural Language Processing in Capturing Patient Perspectives

Insights from Online Patient Forums: Understanding Atopic Dermatitis Treatments

In the evolving landscape of atopic dermatitis (AD) management, online patient forums have emerged as powerful tools for understanding treatment perspectives. A recent poster presented at SCALE 2026 in Nashville, Tennessee, unveiled compelling insights into patient sentiment regarding various treatments for this common skin condition. The poster highlights a novel approach using natural language processing (NLP) to quantify these sentiments, revealing significant differences in how treatments are perceived by patients.

Patient Sentiment in Atopic Dermatitis

Atopic dermatitis affects around 10–13% of the U.S. population and can severely disrupt quality of life due to symptoms like intense itching, pain, and sleep disturbances. Traditional assessment tools, such as the Dermatology Life Quality Index, provide valuable insights into patient-reported outcomes. However, they often limit responses to structured formats and short recall periods, which may not fully encompass the breadth of patient experiences.

Online forums, on the other hand, present a more expansive, unfiltered view into the lives of those managing AD. The research at SCALE 2026 sought to tap into this wealth of information, employing natural language processing to analyze anonymous discussions across patient forums.

Capturing the Treatment Experience

The study’s investigators extracted an impressive 322,460 posts from the r/eczema community on Reddit between 2017 and 2022, using Pushshift.io. After refining the dataset, they focused on 28,159 treatment-related posts, providing an extensive basis for analysis.

The text was processed using DistilBERT, a sentiment analysis model fine-tuned on the Stanford Sentiment Treebank, to classify sentiments as positive or negative. The “Sentiment Positivity Index” was calculated based on the proportion of positive posts associated with each therapy, with confidence intervals enhancing reliability.

Dupilumab was the most frequently discussed treatment, appearing in 36.7% of posts, followed by topical tacrolimus (17.5%) and antihistamines (11.9%). Interestingly, newer agents like systemic tofacitinib were rarely mentioned, indicating potential barriers to patient awareness or usage.

JAK Inhibitors Show Highest Positivity

The sentiment scores across different treatments varied considerably, ranging between 0.116 and 0.365, with an average score of 0.221. Notably, JAK inhibitors emerged with the highest positivity scores, with upadacitinib leading at 0.365, followed closely by ruxolitinib at 0.324 and baricitinib at 0.290.

In stark contrast, lower-potency topical corticosteroids yielded the lowest positivity, scoring 0.116 for Class V and 0.128 for Class VI. These results may reflect real-world challenges highlighted in discussions, including issues of adherence, steroid phobia, and concerns surrounding topical steroid withdrawal, all of which patients openly express in these forums.

Complementing Quality-of-Life Metrics

The findings from this analysis underscore the significance of harnessing natural language processing to gain authentic insights from patient interactions online. By integrating these perspectives with traditional quality-of-life metrics, healthcare providers can gain a richer understanding of patient experiences with atopic dermatitis treatments.

The authors of the study concluded that leveraging such advanced analytical methods to evaluate patient sentiment serves as a compelling complement to existing assessment strategies, capturing real-world treatment perceptions at a scale previously unattainable.

Reference

Rajalingam K et al. Novel Sentiment Positivity Index: Natural Language Processing of Online Patient Forums for Atopic Dermatitis. SCALE Music City, 13-17 May, 2026.

Image Source: maru54 on Adobe Stock.

In summary, the exploration of patient sentiment in online forums represents a significant step toward improving the understanding of treatment options for atopic dermatitis. As we continue to embrace the digital age, such insights will be vital for shaping patient-centered care and enhancing therapeutic outcomes.