Background: Hidradenitis suppurativa (HS) is a long-term skin disorder associated with high levels of psychological distress and significant life impact. Objective: To evaluate the quality of life, depression, anxiety, loneliness, and self-esteem in patients with HS. Methods: Ninety-four patients with HS were enrolled in the study. The quality of life, depression, anxiety, loneliness, and self-esteem of the patients were assessed using the Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI), the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), the UCLA Loneliness Scale (UCLA-Version 3), and the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES), respectively. Results: The DLQI mean score was 11.43 ± 6.61 in patients with HS. The patients with HS presented statistically significantly higher anxiety (6.41 ± 3.31 vs. 5.00 ± 1.59, p < 0.001), depression (5.45 ± 2.79 vs. 4.16 ± 1.54, p < 0.001), and loneliness and social isolation scores (42.86 ± 8.63 vs. 35.57 ± 6.17, p < 0.001) and lower self-esteem scores (18.91 ± 1.79 vs. 19.77 ± 2.53, p = 0.008) than the healthy controls. Conclusions: HS is a distressing, recurrent disease that impairs quality of life. We can suggest services that allow an integrated approach, which includes psychosocial support, offering the patients relief from isolation and an opportunity to share common experiences.

The psychological burden is heavier and quality of life is more severely impaired among women with scarring alopecia compared with non-scarring alopecia, probably depicting the poorer prognosis of the former.

Psoriasis is a chronic, inflammatory scaling dermatosis. The marked visible appearance of the lesions have a negative impact on body image that leads to decreased self-esteem, hence seriously compromising the patient's quality of life. The clinical picture critically affects the social well-being of the patient since the disease is commonly misunderstood and feared by the social environment as being contagious. The patient feels stigmatized and this further intensifies their lack of self-confidence and self-esteem. Feelings of shame and guilt increase the tendency toward suicidal ideation. The poor quality of life of psoriatic patients has been associated with excessive alcohol consumption, increased smoking and greater use of tranquilizers, sedatives and antidepressants. As far as mental impairment is concerned, a correlation has been found between psychological stress and the clinical severity of symptoms: the more mentally affected the patient, the more severe the dermatologic lesions. Similarly, stressful life events constitute a major risk for the occurrence and recurrence, exacerbating the severity and duration of the symptoms. Depression and anxiety can worsen the disease or cause resistance to treatment or patient's indifference, which in turn can lead to expensive and prolonged treatment. Not least, the disease itself contributes to anxiety, depression and psychological stress, thus creating a "vicious circle" that is difficult to manage. Given that women seem to invest more in their personal appearance than men, it is hardly surprising that female psoriatic patients report higher levels of depression. Similarly, the risk of mental disorders is also higher in younger patients for whom body image plays an equally significant role. The severity of the disease, side effects of therapy and mental disorders are among the causes that have been attributed to sexual dysfunction reported by some psoriatic patients. At the social level, stigma, social rejection, feelings of shame, embarrassment and lack of confidence provoked by the disease often lead to the discontinuation of daily activities and social withdrawal. This review attempts to describe the prevalence of psychological stress and its negative social impact on patients with psoriasis. The recognition and treatment of these psychosocial problems may contribute to improving the quality of life for patients and reduce treatment costs. The collaboration between the psychiatrist and the dermatologist is a fundamental prerequisite toward addressing these issues.

BackgroundBullous pemphigoid (BP) is a chronic, autoimmune blistering skin disease that affects patients' daily life and psychosocial well-being.ObjectiveThe aim of the study was to evaluate the quality of life, anxiety, depression and loneliness in BP patients.MethodsFifty-seven BP patients and fifty-seven healthy controls were recruited for the study. The quality of life of each patient was assessed using the Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI) scale. Moreover, they were evaluated for anxiety and depression according to the Hospital Anxiety Depression Scale (HADS-scale), while loneliness was measured through the Loneliness Scale-Version 3 (UCLA) scale.ResultsThe mean DLQI score was 9.45±3.34. Statistically significant differences on the HADS total scale and in HADS-depression subscale (p=0.015 and p=0.002, respectively) were documented. No statistically significant difference was found between the two groups on the HADS-anxiety subscale. Furthermore, significantly higher scores were recorded on the UCLA Scale compared with healthy volunteers (p=0.003).ConclusionBP had a significant impact on quality of life and the psychological status of patients, probably due to the appearance of unattractive lesions on the skin, functional problems and disease chronicity.

BACKGROUNDPsoriasis is a common, long-term skin disease associated with high levels of psychological distress and a considerable adverse impact on life. The effects of psoriasis, beyond skin affliction, are seldom recognized and often undertreated.OBJECTIVEThe aim of the study is to evaluate the quality of life, anxiety and depression, self-esteem and loneliness in patients with psoriasis.METHODSEighty-four patients with psoriasis were enrolled in the study. The quality of life, depression and anxiety, loneliness and self-esteem of the patient were assessed using the Dermatology Life Quality Index, Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, the UCLA loneliness Scale (UCLA-Version 3) and Rosenberg's Self-esteem Scale, respectively.RESULTSThe Dermatology Quality of Life Index score among psoriasis patients was 12.61 ± 4.88. They had statistically significantly higher scores according to the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale -anxiety subscale (p=0.032)-compared with healthy volunteers. Moreover, a statistically significant difference was found between the two groups concerning the UCLA-scale (p=0.033) and RSES-scale (p<0.0001). Female patients presented with lower self-esteem than male patients.CONCLUSIONPsoriasis is a distressing, recurrent disorder that significantly impairs quality of life. Therefore, the recognition and future management of psoriasis may require the involvement of multi-disciplinary teams to manage the physical, psychological and social aspects of the condition, as is the case for systemic, long-term conditions.