Anticipated and Perceived Stigma Among Patients With Psoriasis

Abstract

Background: Perceived stigma among patients with psoriasis (PWP) is associated with poorer quality of life. Objective: To determine the prevalence and predictors of stigmatizing attitudes that PWP expect and experience from others. Methods: We conducted a survey using validated outcome measures to assess the extent to which PWP anticipate and perceive stigma from others. Demographic and clinical characteristics were obtained from electronic medical records. Results: Patients (n = 106) were 48.11% female, 70.75% white, and had a mean age ± SD of 47.90 ± 16.19 years old. Of all, 25.47% self-reported their psoriasis as severe. Mean physician global assessment score ± SD was 2.98 ± 1.81. Two-thirds (66.98%) of patients reported that, in response to seeing their psoriasis-affected skin, they anticipated others to stereotype them as “contagious.” Linear regression analyses demonstrated that patient-reported severe psoriasis, compared to mild psoriasis, was associated with greater anticipation of negative stereotypes, social avoidance, and perceived stigma from others ( P values < .05). Physician-measured body surface area and global assessment scores were not significantly associated with any outcome. Conclusion: Prevalence of anticipated and perceived stigma among PWP is high. Our results suggest that objective measures of severity may not identify patients at risk of stigma-related distress. Additional methods, such as directly inquiring about stigmatizing experiences, may be needed.

Psoriasis-Related Stigma: Is There More to Uncover?

“…9 Whereas some studies find that stigmatization is the most powerful predictor of depressive symptoms for psoriasis patients and that perceived stigma is sufficient to lessen quality of life, other studies state that the localization of lesions does not seem to have an effect on the occurrence of depressive symptoms and feelings of stigmatization. [10][11][12] In spite of the small study group, mostly comprised of patients with adequate control of their condition, we expected to find that our patients would feel discriminated against socially, in line with studies on other populations. However, one explanation for the discrepancy in our results resides in the coping strategies used by chronic patients to adjust their mental outlook after receiving their diagnosis.…”

The Implication of Misinformation and Stigma in Age-Related Quality of Life, Depression, and Coping Mechanisms of Adult Patients with Psoriasis

“…In another paper, approximatively 66% of patients report that they are perceived as contagious and unattractive by society at large. One third of patients anticipate that their lesions would be met with negative emotional responses, such as disgust [ 26 , 27 ]. This is mirrored in our study as over a third of respondents report feeling pity when interacting with patients with visible psoriasis lesions.…”

Different Aspects of Psoriasis : Comorbidity, Comedication and Disease Biomarkers

“…Several depressive symptoms are also symptoms closely related to symptoms of psoriasis such as (vi) fatigue ( 68), (iv) sleep disturbance ( 69) and (vii) feelings of worthlessness which can be triggered by stigma (70).…”