Assessment of the quality of life of pediatric patients with the major chronic childhood skin diseases

Abstract

BACKGROUND: The skin is the primary interface of the human being with the external environment and the presence of skin diseases can have substantial effects on the quality of life. OBJECTIVE: This study aims to make a comparative evaluation of the quality of life of pediatric patients with atopic dermatitis, psoriasis and vitiligo and correlate the findings with the total body surface and the areas with the disease exposed to view. METHODS: The sample consisted of 118 patients with atopic dermatitis, vitiligo and psoriasis, aged between 5 and 16 years, who were asked to answer the Children's Dermatology Life Quality Index (CDLQI) questionnaire. A dermatological examination for the measurement of total body surface affected by the disease was performed. RESULTS: The three groups showed an impaired quality of life. Patients with atopic dermatitis and psoriasis showed a significantly greater impact on the QoL than the group with vitiligo. There is a trend towards impaired quality of life in patients from the three groups of dermatoses, which is related to increments in both the total affected area and affected area exposed to view (r = 0.428 and p <0.001, r = 0.381 and p <0.001, respectively). CONCLUSION: The assessed children had impaired quality of life. However, there is a significantly greater impact in the groups with atopic dermatitis and psoriasis than in the group with vitiligo. This may be due to lack of symptoms in vitiligo and the fact this group presented a statistically smaller affected body surface than the other two groups.

Systematic Review of Health-Related Quality of Life in Adolescents with Psoriasis

“…Psoriasis (30.6% decrease in HRQL) and atopic dermatitis (30.5% decrease in HRQL) were nearly identical for the most detrimental impact on HRQL out of the skin conditions measured (others included urticaria, alopecia, acne and localized eczema) [11] . Manzoni et al [12] found similar results when sampling 118 children aged 5-16 years using the CDLQI, in that psoriasis and atopic dermatitis had a greater impact on HRQL compared to other chronic skin diseases, such as vitiligo.…”

Quality of life, depression, and anxiety in Turkish children with vitiligo and their parents

“…In their study where three types of dermatoses were compared, Manzoni et al [69] have found that having a diagnosis of any of the three declined health-related quality of life, though suggesting that individuals with atopic dermatitis and psoriasis had significantly lower levels of life quality, compared to those diagnosed with vitiligo. As part of the discussion, the authors interpreted this difference by the possibility of individuals with vitiligo, having no visible alteration in appearance, or having less number of afflicted body parts, compared to other two dermatoses [69].…”

“…As part of the discussion, the authors interpreted this difference by the possibility of individuals with vitiligo, having no visible alteration in appearance, or having less number of afflicted body parts, compared to other two dermatoses [69]. Overall impairment of children's quality of life, and specifically self-awareness and bullying and teasing of peers were related to the severity of the disorder; not to mention differences in where lesions would be distributed were linked to different levels of impairment in the sense of health-related quality of life.…”

Impacto Da Dermatite Atópica Na Qualidade De Vida De Pacientes Pediátricos E Seus Responsáveis

“…By classifying CDLQI in domains, another study - Brazilian - conducted in Porto Alegre (RS), 20 obtained the following in the three first positions: domain of symptoms and feelings, sleep, and treatment. The two first domains with the highest score were the same presented in this study.…”