Relationships between the acceptance of illness, quality of life and satisfaction with life in psoriasis

INTRODUCTION: Since the skin plays a pivotal role in interpersonal relationships, a chronic dermatological condition (psoriasis), may have a profound effect on the psychological status of patients. AIM: To analyse the effects of skin lesions on satisfaction with life, acceptance of illness and quality of life in psoriasis. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The study included psoriatics recruited at the Dermatology Outpatient Unit of the Regional Hospital in Lomza, Dermatology Outpatient Clinic in Siemiatycze and Dermatology and Medical Cosmetology Centre in Bialystok. The study patients were examined with a demographic survey prepared by the authors, as well as with three validated scales: AIS, SWLS and DLQI. A total of 263 questionnaire sets were handed out to the participants of the study; this pool included 200 questionnaires with complete data that were eventually included in the analysis. RESULTS: Acceptance of Illness Scale scores of the study participants ranged between 8 and 40 pts. Mean AIS scores for female and male psoriatics were similar, 23 and 25 pts, respectively. Based on the distribution of Satisfaction with Life Scale scores, 42 of the study patients presented with high levels of satisfaction with life, whereas 37 and 21 showed moderate and low satisfaction levels, respectively. Quality of life turned out to be the best among 20- to 30-year-old respondents as up to 74.19 of them had Dermatology Life Quality Index scores no greater than 10 pts. CONCLUSIONS: Psoriatics with higher levels of illness acceptance also presented with greater satisfaction with life.