Quality of life assessment among patients suffering from different dermatological diseases

Hend M. AlOtaibi; Nuha A. AlFurayh; Bayan M. AlNooh; Nouf A. Aljomah; Sadeem M. Alqahtani

doi:10.15537/smj.2021.42.11.20210560

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Table 1

- The impact of certain dermatological diseases on patients’ QoL.

Diagnosis	Total 390 (100)	No effect 119 (30.5)	Small 125 (32.1)	Moderate 79 (20.3)	Large 56 (14.4)	Extremely large 11 (2.8)	P-value
Diagnosis	n (%)
Acne Vulgaris	84 (21.5)	39 (46.4)	28 (33.3)	11 (13.1)	5 (6.0)	1 (1.2)	0.001*
Urticaria	54 (13.8)	4 (7.4)	18 (33.3)	12 (22.2)	17 (31.5)	3 (5.6)	<0.001*
Hair disorders	52 (13.3)	22 (42.3)	18 (34.6)	10 (19.2)	1 (1.9)	1 (1.9)	0.049
Eczema	45 (11.5)	9 (20)	13 (28.9)	11 (24.4)	11 (24.4)	1 (2.2)	0.191
Vitiligo	29 (7.4)	10 (34.5)	13 (44.8)	4 (13.8)	1 (3.4)	1 (3.4)	0.283
Psoriasis	25 (6.4)	2 (8.0)	10 (40.0)	7 (28.0)	6 (24.0)	0 (0.0)	0.083
Seborrheic dermatitis	15 (3.8)	3 (20.0)	4 (26.7)	5 (33.3)	2 (13.3)	1 (6.7)	0.583
Skin infections	13 (3.3)	3 (23.1)	4 (30.8)	3 (23.1)	3 (23.1)	0 (0.0)	0.845
Rheumatological skin diseases	12 (3.1)	3 (25.0)	3 (25.0)	2 (16.7)	3 (25.0)	1 (8.3)	0.605
Disorders of hyper-pigmentation	10 (2.6)	2 (20.0)	4 (40.0)	2 (20.0)	2 (20.0)	0 (0.0)	0.896
Lichen planus	7 (1.8)	2 (28.6)	1 (14.3)	3 (42.9)	0 (0.0)	1 (14.3)	0.144
Rosacea	7 (1.8)	2 (28.6)	3 (42.9)	1 (14.3)	0 (0.0)	1 (14.3)	0.315
Scars	7 (1.8)	3 (42.9)	2 (28.6)	1 (14.3)	1 (14.3)	0 (0.0)	0.950
Neoplasms	3 (0.8)	1 (33.3)	0 (0.0)	2 (66.7)	0 (0.0)	0 (0.0)	0.318
Others	17 (4.4)	9 (52.9)	1 (5.9)	4 (23.5)	3 (17.6)	0 (0.0)	0.114
Unknown	10 (2.6)	5 (50.0)	3 (30.0)	1 (10.0)	1 (10.0)	0 (0.0)	0.690

Total DLQI range from 0-30. 0-1: no effect at all on patient’s life, 2-5: small effect on patient’s life, 6-10: moderate effect on patient’s life, 11-20: very large effect on patient’s life, 21-30: extremely large effect on patient’s life, QoL: quality of life, DLQI: dermatology of life quality index

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Table 2

- The contribution of disease characteristics and treatment characteristics on patients’ quality of life (QoL).

Characteristic	Effect on QoL
	Total 390 (100)	No effect 119 (30.5)	Small 125 (32.1)	Moderate 79 (20.3)	Large 56 (14.4)	Extremely large 11 (2.8)
	n (%)
Disease duration
<3 months	31 (7.9)	13 (41.9)	8 (25.8)	4 (12.9)	6 (19.4)	0 (0.0)
3-6 months	29 (7.4)	10 (34.5)	12 (41.4)	4 (13.8)	2 (6.9)	1 (3.4)
6-1 year	49 (12.6)	24 (49)	12 (24.5)	4 (8.2)	8 (16.3)	1 (2)
1-2 years	57 (14.6)	17 (29.8)	22 (38.6)	11 (19.3)	6 (10.5)	1 (1.8)
2-5 years	74 (19.0)	12 (16.2)	29 (39.2)	20 (27.0)	13 (17.6)	0 (0.0)
>5 years	111 (28.5)	33 (29.7)	31 (27.9)	26 (23.4)	15 (13.5)	6 (5.4)
Unknown	39 (10.0)	10 (25.6)	11 (28.2)	10 (25.6)	6 (15.4)	2 (5.1)
Treatment form
Multiple	27 (6.9)	8 (29.6)	9 (33.3)	5 (18.5)	4 (14.8)	1 (3.7)
Topical	124 (31.8)	38 (30.6)	38 (30.6)	29 (23.4)	16 (12.9)	3 (2.4)
Systemic	181 (46.4)	57 (31.5)	58 (32)	34 (18.8)	26 (14.4)	6 (3.3)
Phototherapy	12 (3.1)	2 (16.7)	5 (41.7)	2 (16.7)	2 (16.7)	1 (8.3)
None	44 (11.3)	14 (31.8)	14 (31.8)	9 (20.5)	7 (15.9)	0 (0.0)
Unknown	2 (0.5)	0 (0.0)	1 (50.0)	0 (0.0)	1 (50.0)	0 (0.0)
Treatment duration
<3 months	47 (12.1)	19 (40.4)	16 (34.0)	5 (10.6)	6 (12.8)	1 (2.1)
3-6 months	51 (13.1)	16 (31.4)	21 (41.2)	8 (15.7)	5 (9.8)	1 (2.0)
6-1 year	63 (16.2)	27 (42.9)	21 (33.3)	7 (11.1)	7 (11.1)	1 (1.6)
1-2 years	34 (8.7)	8 (23.5)	14 (41.2)	6 (17.6)	5 (14.7)	1 (2.9)
2-5 years	42 (10.8)	8 (19)	10 (23.8)	15 (35.7)	8 (19)	1 (2.4)
>5 years	57 (14.6)	13 (22.8)	19 (33.3)	13 (22.8)	10 (17.5)	2 (3.5)
Unknown	56 (14.4)	14 (25.0)	12 (21.4)	16 (28.6)	10 (17.9)	4 (7.1)
None	40 (10.3)	14 (35.0)	12 (30.0)	9 (22.5)	5 (12.5)	0 (0.0)
Disease distribution
Generalized	87 (22.3)	13 (15)	27 (31)	24 (27.6)	20 (23)	3 (3.4)
local	299 (76.7)	106 (35.5)	97 (32.4)	55 (18.4)	34 (11.4)	7 (2.3)
Unknown	4 (1.0)	0 (0.0)	1 (25.0)	0 (0.0)	2 (50.0)	1 (25.0)
On other medication
Yes	105 (26.9)	32 (30.5)	31 (29.5)	18 (17.1)	19 (18.1)	5 (4.8)
No	285 (73.1)	87 (30.5)	94 (33)	61 (21.4)	37 (13)	6 (2.1)
Chronic diseases
Yes	157 (40.3)	38 (24.2)	47 (29.9)	38 (24.2)	28 (17.8)	6 (3.8)
No	233 (59.7)	81 (34.8)	78 (33.5)	41 (17.6)	28 (12)	5 (2.1)

DLQI: dermatology of life quality index, total DLQI range from 0-30, 0-1: no effect at all on patient’s life, 2-5: small effect on patient’s life, 6-10: moderate effect on patient’s life, 11-20: very large effect on patient’s life, 21-30: extremely large effect on patient’s life

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Table 3

- Analysis of dermatology life quality index (DLQI) elements in patients with different dermatological diseases (N=390).

Elements of DLQI	Not at all	A little	A lot	Very much	Not relevant
Elements of DLQI	n (%)
Itchiness/pain	135 (34.6)	152 (39.0)	62 (15.9)	41 (10.5)	0 (0.0)
Embarrassment	156 (40.0)	126 (32.3)	70 (17.9)	38 (9.7)	0 (0.0)
Interfered with shopping/home duties (n=389)	114 (29.2)	70 (17.9)	47 (12.1)	26 (6.7)	132 (33.8)
Influenced the clothes you wear	130 (33.3)	70 (17.9)	34 (8.7)	36 (9.2)	120 (30.8)
Affected social/leisure activities	146 (37.4)	72 (18.5)	46 (11.8)	20 (5.1)	106 (27.2)
Sport difficulties	157 (40.3)	62 (15.9)	21 (5.4)	17 (4.4)	133 (34.1)
Problem at work/studying (n=316)	253 (80.1)	50 (15.8)	12 (3.8)	0 (0.0)	1 (0.3)
Problem with partner/relatives/friends	188 (48.2)	72 (18.5)	23 (5.9)	13 (3.3)	94 (24.1)
Sexual difficulties (n=389)	166 (42.6)	21 (5.4)	14 (3.6)	8 (2.1)	180 (46.2)
Problem with treatment	218 (55.9)	66 (16.9)	25 (6.4)	12 (3.1)	69 (17.7)
Prevent working, no/yes	267 (68.5)	26 (6.7)			97 (24.9)