The Impact of Onychopathies on Quality of Life: A Hospital-based, Cross-sectional Study

BACKGROUND: Onychopathies or nail disorders are associated with social stigma and causes limitation of daily activities by hampering the function of both fingers and toes. AIM: To evaluate the impact of onychopathies on quality of life (QoL) and compare the severity of impact on QoL in various nail disorders. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A hospital-based cross-sectional study consisting of 540 patients with onychopathies was conducted in the dermatology outpatient department. Patients were requested to complete a nail-specific QoL questionnaire consisting of 24 and 16 questions, respectively, for fingernails (group F) and toenails (group T) with five possible responses to each question. A score of 1-5 was given to each response. Statistical analysis was done to compare the impact of QoL on the different types of onychopathies. RESULTS: We found that onychopathies have a significant impact on QoL. QoL was significantly more affected when multiple nails were involved (P = 0.020 for group F and P = 0.001 for group T). QoL impact was statistically more significant in women (P = 0.038 for group F and P < 0.001 for group T) and in younger people aged <20 years in group F and 20-39 years in group T (P < 0.001 for both groups F and T). Patients with onychomycosis, structural nail defects, and psoriasis had a more significant impact than other diseases (P < 0.001 for both groups F and T). CONCLUSION: Onychopathies have a significant adverse effect on QoL because of their serious physical, psychological and social impact. Hence, clinicians should treat the nail disorders with utmost seriousness.