Psoriasis negatively affects QOL for patients, family members

Patients with psoriasis, as well as their family members, experience multiple negative impacts to their quality of life due to the disease, according to a poster presented at the American Academy of Dermatology virtual meeting.

The qualitative study included five focus groups and 10 semi-structured interviews of 25 adult patients with psoriasis and 11 adult family members.

Patients reported negative quality of life effects in seven key areas: mental health, physical health, dependency, social relationships, functional health, shared environment and hurdles to effective treatment.

Family members reported negative impacts in four areas: mental health, physical health, social relationships and shared environment.

“Dermatologists need to better assess this QOL impact in clinic, using patient-reported outcomes, as the far-reaching implications are rarely voiced by patients during the clinic visit,” the study authors wrote. “Otherwise, patients may receive suboptimal care.”