Use of the SF‐12 questionnaire to assess physical and mental health status in patients with psoriasis

Abstract

Health‐related quality of life (HRQoL) in psoriasis patients is generally measured using disease‐ or dermatology‐specific questionnaires. Our objective was to use the generic 12‐item Short Form Health Survey (SF‐12) instrument to measure the physical and mental impact of psoriasis and to compare scores with those already published for different diseases. An observational study was conducted among mild‐to‐severe psoriasis outpatients. Health status was assessed by the SF‐12, which includes a physical (PCS) and a mental (MCS) scale. The 12‐item General Health Questionnaire (GHQ‐12) was used to assess the possible presence of depression or anxiety, and the Skindex‐17 to measure dermatology‐specific HRQoL. Statistical analyses were performed to estimate the association between physical and mental health status and demographic and clinical characteristics. The study population included 1592 patients. Psoriasis PCS scores were similar to the general population and to non‐severe diseases such as allergies, dermatitis, or back pain, while MCS mean scores were very similar to that of depression, and lower than those of all the other chronic conditions. Poor physical health was associated with female sex, older age, lower educational level, joint involvement, ≥2 comorbidities, moderate to very severe clinical status, GHQ‐12 score ≥4, and moderate to severe Skindex‐17 psychosocial scores. Poor mental health was associated with younger age (<30 years), GHQ ≥ 4, and severe Skindex‐17 psychosocial scores. In conclusion, a general health measure, such as the SF‐12, appears to be able to capture, in psoriasis patients, the burden of the disease both from a physical and a mental point of view.

Sex Differences in Moderate to Severe Psoriasis: Analysis of the Psoriasis Longitudinal Assessment and Registry

“…Although females may tend to have less severe skin involvement, results of this and other studies indicate that quality of life and health status are more negatively affected among females than males with psoriasis based on DLQI, Psoriasis Disability Index, Skindex-17 and -29, and 12-item Short Form Health Survey outcomes. 11,13,26-28 The literature supports that psychological distress associated with negative body image and social stigmatization is often greater among females with psoriasis; 12,14,25,29,30 in turn, this may contribute to the difference in impact of psoriasis on quality of life, as well as the greater likelihood of anxiety, depression, and suicidal ideation among females versus males observed in our study. Additionally, some of the observed sex-specific negative effects of psoriasis among females may be associated with higher levels of treatment dissatisfaction and/or lack of response compared with males.…”

Short-time effects of spa rehabilitation on pain, mood and quality of life among patients with degenerative or post-surgery musculoskeletal disorders

“… The 12-Item Short Form Health Survey (SF-12): a questionnaire readjusted from a larger version, the 36-Item Short Form Health Survey (SF-36), used to investigate the perception of personal psychophysical conditions, frequently employed in the rehabilitation field. The SF-12 results, dual and expressed by the acronyms PCS (Physical Component Summary, from 0 to 100) and MCS (Mental Component Summary, from 0 to 100), can adequately summarise the size of the patient’s impairment both from a physical and mental point of view (Sampogna et al 2019 ). A score of 50 or less on the PCS has been recommended as a cut-off to determine a physical condition, while a score of 42 or less on the MCS may be indicative of clinical depression (Ware et al 1995 ).…”

Association between self-reported oral health and cognitive function among the community-dwelling elderly in Jinan, China: the mediating effect of life satisfaction

“…SF-12 scores were divided into physical component summary (PCS) and mental component summary (MCS) scores ( Ware et al, 1995 ) and both of them could be dichotomized by the cut-off point of the first quartile ( Khedmat et al, 2007 ). Following a previous study did, participants whose PCS/MCS scores were lower than the first quartile were defined as poor physical/mental health while those whose scores were higher than the first quartile were defined as good physical/mental health ( Sampogna et al, 2019 ). Finally, outpatient service as well as inpatient service last was categorized into yes or no.…”