Psychiatric morbidity in psoriasis and vitiligo: a comparative study

Area of Science:

• Psychiatry
• Dermatology
• Psychosomatic Medicine

Background:

• Psoriasis and vitiligo are chronic skin conditions.
• Psychiatric conditions are common comorbidities in dermatological disorders.
• The General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-H) is a validated tool for assessing psychiatric morbidity.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare psychiatric morbidity in patients with psoriasis versus vitiligo.
• To assess the prevalence of depression, anxiety, and sleep disturbances in these patient groups.

Main Methods:

• A comparative study involving 30 new, untreated psoriasis patients and 30 vitiligo patients (ages 18-60).
• Utilized the standardized Hindi version of the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-H) for assessment.
• Statistical analysis to determine significant differences between groups.

Main Results:

• Psychiatric morbidity was significantly higher in psoriasis patients (53.3%) than in vitiligo patients (16.22%) (p=0.0028).
• Depression prevalence was 23.3% in psoriasis and 10% in vitiligo.
• Sleep disturbance was the most frequent complaint, significantly more prevalent in psoriasis patients (56.6%) compared to vitiligo patients (20%) (p=0.0034).

Conclusions:

• Psoriasis is associated with a substantially higher burden of psychiatric morbidity than vitiligo.
• Sleep disturbances are a prominent issue in psoriasis patients.
• These findings underscore the importance of screening for and managing psychiatric comorbidities in psoriasis.