Quality of life in adult Nigerians with psoriasis

Abstract

Introduction: Psoriasis is a chronic, papulosquamous disorder of the skin with variable morphology, characterized by periods of remission and reactivity. Psoriasis, like many chronic disorders such as atopic dermatitis, affects the quality of life (Qol) of the patient significantly. Psoriasis has been described as a psychosomatic condition with the psychological distress of the disease being a possible causative factor or a factor maintaining the disease progression.

Aims and Objectives: The aim of this study was to determine the effect of psoriasis on the quality of life in patients who attend the dermatology outpatient clinic of the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH).

Methodology: The dermatology life quality index (DLQI) translated into the colloquial Nigerian English and Yoruba (the most prevalent indigenous language spoken in South West Nigeria) was administered to consecutive patients who presented for dermatology consultation between December 2010 and January 2012. Eighty-three (3.15%) of the 2634 that completed the study protocol had psoriasis. Data on the 66 adults a clinical diagnosis of psoriasis was extracted while those of 18 children were excluded.

Result: Most psoriatic patients (98.5%) reported impaired quality of life as a result of the disease. The mean total DLQI score was 11.11 ± 7.06 (SD). The quality of life of the patients was most severely affected in the 'symptoms and feelings' domain and least affected by the treatment of psoriasis. The effect of psoriasis on the quality of life in males was significantly more than females (P=0.02).

Conclusion: In view of the percentage of psoriasis patients with impaired quality of life and the predominant effect on their symptoms and feelings; early and prompt management to relieve symptoms will give respite to these patients.

Keywords: Psoriasis, quality of life, Nigerians, symptoms and feelings