[A survey of the social and psychological effects of psoriasis]

338 patients with psoriasis (male: 213, female: 125) who have been treated in our department from 1979 to 1988 answered a questionnaire concerning social and psychological effects of the disease. The mean age of onset was 33 years; 35 years for the male and 29 years for the female. Social and emotional morbidity was present for many patients despite the access to modern treatments. The worst feeling about having psoriasis was general appearance of the skin (41.7%), itching (19.5%), flaking of the skin (16.9%) and time-consuming or messy treatment programs (13.3%). A large percentage of patients avoided common social activities, for example, communal baths, swimming, and sports. Triggering factors of psoriasis were climate (60.3%), stress (46.9%), sleeping disturbance (34.6%), irregular life (32.2%), and low humidity (22.5%). 18.6% of patients were affected in choosing the occupation by having psoriasis. Many patients felt stigmatized as the disease is contagious or genetic. Most of the patients learned psoriasis through doctors, however, 75.7% of them wanted to get more informations. Finally, since only 26.3% of patients were satisfied with current therapeutics, dermatologists seem to be too self satisfied with present managements. It is important for us to understand what the patients are really suffering from and what the patients really want. And, it also is important to make efforts for a better understanding of psoriasis in society.