Quality of life of psoriatic patients in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso

Abstract

Background: Psoriasis is a chronic, displaying inflammatory dermatosis. The evaluation of the psychosocial impact of chronic dermatoses on the quality of life of patients may help to orientate the objectives of management in order to improve their daily life, hence the interest of our study with the objective to evaluate the impact of psoriasis on the quality of life of patients followed in the dermatology, venereology, and rheumatology departments of the city of Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso. Patients and Method: This was a descriptive, cross-sectional study that took place from March 1 to June 28, 2019, in six public hospitals in the city of Ouagadougou. The Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI) and Psoriasis Disability Index (PDI) were the quality of life tools employed for this study. Results: Forty-eight (48) patients with psoriasis met the inclusion criteria. The mean age of the patients was 46.20 years, ranging from 22 to 79 years. There were 18 females and 30 males, with a sex ratio of 1.6. The measurement of the patients’ QoL by the DLQI reported a mean score of 9.14 out of 30. There was a low impact of the disease on the QoL for seventeen patients. The evaluation of the QOL with the PDI noted an alteration of daily activities (3.95/15) and alteration of the patients’ psychosocial relationships (2.66/18). The analysis of the QoL according to sociodemographic and clinical variables noted an alteration significantly related to age, level of education, and severity of the disease. An alteration in professional relationships was significant in female patients. An alteration in the different dimensions of the QoL was more significant in patients with a low level of education. The duration of the disease seemed to have no impact on the patients’ quality of life. Daily activities were significantly altered for patients with a PASI between 7 and 10. The DLQI did not correlate with disease severity (PASI) (r = 0.228; p = 0.120), unlike the PDI (r = 0.371; p = 0.009). Conclusion: The QoL of psoriatic patients in Ouagadougou seemed to be slightly altered. This alteration was more significant for females. Professional relationships were altered for young subjects while daily activities were altered for those older.