Quality of Life and Prevalence of Arthritis Reported by 5,795 Members of the Nordic Psoriasis Associations

Abstract

Quality of life measures are widely used in dermatology as well as in rheumatology, but there are no large studies taking arthritis into consideration when studying quality of life in psoriasis. The aim of this study was to investigate psoriasis-related quality of life in a large sample of members of the psoriasis associations from the Nordic countries including an arthritis-related evaluation. The prevalence of reported arthritis within the groups was also estimated. An Arthritis Disability Index suitable for parallel use together with Finlay's Psoriasis Disability Index was constructed. A total of 5,795 members and 702 patients seen by Nordic dermatologists rated the severity of their disease and completed the Psoriasis Disability Index formula and a Psoriasis Life Stress Inventory, and if arthritis had been diagnosed, the Arthritis Disability Index formula. Approximately 30% of all psoriatic patients, irrespective of group, received a diagnosis of arthritis either by their dermatologist or a rheumatologist. Members previously hospitalized for their disease had a higher frequency of arthritis (41%) than those without a history of hospitalization (23%). The highest prevalence of arthritis was found in Norway (33.8%). Members with arthritis exhibited greater impairment of psoriasis-related quality of life, longer disease duration, and greater self-reported disease severity for psoriasis. Important predictors for impairment of arthritis-related quality of life were pain, number of affected joints, and restriction of joint mobility. These data show, that the prevalence of arthritis in psoriasis may be significantly higher than the previously accepted average of 7%. The results demonstrate that when studying quality of life in psoriasis, arthritis and arthralgia are important independent factors to be included in the evaluation.

Patient-reported Outcomes in a Randomized Trial of Etanercept in Psoriatic Arthritis

“…Many patients have erosive disease, physical limitations, and work-related disability 22,24 . Patients with PsA may experience more pain and more role limitations than patients with RA 25,26 and patients with psoriasis alone 27,28 .…”

Quality of life of patients with Psoriasis in Alexandria- Egypt

“…Social exclusion, discrimination and stigma are psychologically devastating for individuals suffering from psoriasis and their families. Psoriasis affects relationships at home, school and work as well as sexual relationships and thus reduce QoL and adds to the social and psychological strain (19,20) . Moreover, the chronic recurrent nature of the disease, the erythema and scaliness lead to the hopelessness of complete cure to its treatment and have a great impact on patient self-esteem and confidence and reported cases of suicidal attacks (21)(22)(23) .…”

Reliability and Validity of the Turkish Adaptation of VITACORA-19 in Patients with Psoriatic Arthritis

“…The patient-perceived effect of PsA has been usually assessed through generic questionnaires such as the HAQ or short form 36. [10][11][12]27 VITACORA-19 disease-specific instrument has been developed to evaluate HRQoL in patients with PsA and the objective was to develop a questionnaire to calculate a score reflecting the effect of PsA based on patients' perspectives.…”

“…Reduced functional capacity and QoL are expected outcomes of PsA. [10][11][12] Self administered Psoriatic Quality of Life (PsQoL) scale was developed to evaluate the QoL of patients with PsA. 13 A validity study for the Turkish version of PsQoL was performed by Duruöz et al, 14 who demonstrated PsQoL to be relevant and acceptable to respondents, valid, and reliable with proven sensitivity to changes.…”