Effects of disease severity on quality of life in patients with psoriasis

Psoriasis is one of the leading dermatological diseases that can result in degradation in quality of life (QOL). We aimed to evaluate the effects of disease severity on QOL in psoriasis patients living in our region. Fifty-nine female and 41 male patients diagnosed with psoriasis were included in the study. The Psoriasis Area Severity Index (PASI) was used to determine disease severity. The Psoriasis Quality of Life Questionnaire (PQLQ) was used to evaluate QOL. The mean PASI score was 14.3 +/- 10.1. The PQLQ and subscale scores were not affected by age, marital status, educational status, or age at onset of the disease etc. parameters (P > .05). Additional drug use, joint involvement, and lesion site exposure were found to increase psychosocial negativity scores significantly (P < .05). The mean scores for difficulties in daily life and treatment problems were significantly higher in men than in women (P < .05). There was a positive correlation between PASI scores and PQLQ, PQLQ subgroup scores. We found that QOL decreased with increasing severity of the disease. QOL as well as clinical severity should be considered in the planning and follow-up of psoriasis treatment. To evaluate the QOL, we believe that the PQLQ can be used as demonstrated in our study.