Quality of life in patients with psoriasis

INTRODUCTION: Psoriasis is a chronic inflammatory skin condition affecting diverse racial/ethnic groups throughout the world. It has a major impact on the patient’s quality of life, influencing career, social activities, family relationships, and all other aspects of life OBJECTIVES: To evalue the quality of life in patients with psoriasis METHODS: Participants were outpatients of Hedi chaker University Hospital Center in sfax, Tunisia, recruited between January and July of 2017, diagnosed with psoriasis. A Demographic questionnaire and the Quality of life Questionnaire (SF-36) were administered in this study. RESULTS: 44 patients were included in this study. They had with a mean age of 45.8 ±12.1. The majority of patients were married (70.5%), unemployed (40.5%), without medical heredity (84,6%). Psoriasis was in plaque (65.9%), guttate (20.5%) and pustular(13.6.5%). Its severity assessed by BSA, was mild to moderate in 72.7% of cases and associated arthropathy was noted in 29.5% of patients. The overall average SF-36 scale scores for all patients ranged from 4 to 98 with an average of 55.97. The quality of life of patients was impaired in 45.5% of casesQuality of life was significantly more impaired in patients with associated arthropathy (p=0.004). There is no significant differences for the different dimensions of quality of life regarding the clinical form of psoriasis. CONCLUSIONS: Psoriasis certainly has an impact on patients’ quality of life.So, dermatologists should give special attention to this subgroup of persons in order to prevent future psychopathology.