A review of quality of life of patients suffering from ichthyosis

INTRODUCTION: Ichthyoses include a heterogeneous group of skin diseases often characterized by persistent scaling and hyperkeratosis with variable erythema, pruritus, and sweating impairment. The aim of our review was to assess the quality of life in patients with ichthyosis. METHODS: In July 2018 we performed a systematic search in the electronic database PubMed (MEDLINE). The MESH term “quality of life” was combined, through the Boolean operator AND with the key word “ichthyosis”. We considered eligible for the systematic review studies written in English. RESULTS: The literature search yielded 63 publications, but 7 studies were included in the review. Studies were published in 2003-2014 and involved a minimum of 10 and a maximum of 235 patients. Authors used 5 types of tools: Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI), Dermatitis Family Impact Questionnaire (DFI), Nottingham Health Profile (NHP) questionnaire, Short Form Questionnaire 36 and 12 (SF-36, SF-12). Many patients reported worse scores than general population. Patients referred physical problems related to pain (which negatively influenced the mobility). CONCLUSIONS: Ichthyosis considerably impaired the QoL, especially for paediatric patients. Further studies and efforts should be done to manage and treat the pain.