---
title: >-
  Characterization of patient perception of odor severity in hidradenitis
  suppurativa using TARGET-DERM HS.
description: >-
  Explore this publication on real-world evidence: Characterization of patient
  perception of odor severity in hidradenitis suppurativa using TARGET-DERM HS..
date: '2026-01-01'
category: Publications
tags:
  - AAD Annual Meeting
  - Poster Presentation
  - R&D
  - Care
  - Dermatology
  - Hidradenitis Suppurativa (HS)
  - Pharma Partner
  - Health System Partner
canonical_url: >-
  https://www.pedestalhealth.com/resources/publications/aad-annual-meeting/characterization-of-patient-perception-of-odor-severity-in/
source: Pedestal Health
license: © 2026 Pedestal Health. All rights reserved.
slug: characterization-of-patient-perception-of-odor-severity-in
id: 43p4faThz3yuPTmcRmy0Ef
contentType: article
---

## Challenge

HS-related odor is frequently reported by patients as a major source of social stigma and quality-of-life impairment, yet it had never been quantitatively evaluated from the patient perspective in a large real-world cohort, and no validated cutoff existed to distinguish mild from severe odor burden.

## Solution

The TARGET-DERM HS registry was used to stratify patients into odor severity quartiles based on the HSSA odor question and compare demographics, clinician-reported outcomes, and patient-reported QoL measures (HiSQOL, DLQI, PROMIS) across quartiles using multivariable regression.

## Impact

Quantifying the pervasive QoL impact of HS odor across patient subgroups—and demonstrating that odor severity predicts worse HiSQOL, DLQI, and psychiatric outcomes—establishes odor as a patient-relevant endpoint for HS drug development and supports AbbVie's label strategy for therapies demonstrating odor reduction.

### [Feng Yu](/people/feng-yu/)