Depression, Anxiety and Quality of Life in Patients with Atopic Dermatitis and Psoriasis

Abstract

Background and Objectives: Atopic dermatitis and psoriasis are life-long inflammatory diseases affecting more than just the skin. Although their link with mental comorbidities has been established, the role of using self-assessment questionnaires is still debated. The aim of our study was to evaluate differences in the quality of life (DLQI) as well as depression (PHQ-9) and anxiety (GAD-7) questionnaire data and determine their link with individual patient and skin disease factors. Materials and Methods: Demographic, clinical and questionnaire data were collected from Riga 1st hospitals archive. For statistical evaluation, the Mann–Whitney U test and Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient were used. Results: The median DLQI for atopic dermatitis and psoriasis was 10.5 and 10, respectively. The prevalence among women with atopic dermatitis who had a PHQ-9 ≥ 10 was 42.9%, compared to 50.0% in men, and GAD-7 ≥ 10 prevalence was 14.3% and 20.0%, respectively. Psoriatic women had a PHQ-9 ≥ 10 prevalence of 25.0% compared with 28.9% in men. The prevalence of GAD-7 ≥ 10 was 20.0% in females and 15.8% in males. GAD-7 score was elevated in patients with psoriatic genital involvement. Multiple positive correlations were noted between PHQ-9, GAD-7 and DLQI scores. Conclusions: Patient quality of life and prevalence of anxiety and depression symptoms are impacted by psoriasis and atopic dermatitis, with similar patterns observed across genders and comorbidities. Genital involvement could be associated with more severe anxiety symptoms. The correlations between PHQ-9, GAD-7 and DLQI scores indicate that further evaluation might be necessary if quality of life is impaired