Quality of life in patients with hand eczema as health promotion: a case control study

Health promotion has been defined by the World Health Organization's (WHO) 2005 Bangkok Charter for Health Promotion as "the process of enabling people to increase control over their health and its determinants, and thereby improve their health". One of the most important determinants of health is quality of life. Hand eczema is a common skin disease that can adversely affect the quality of life of patients. The aim of this study was to determine the quality of life in patients with hand eczema. This case-control study was performed on 70 patients with hand eczema and 70 healthy controls. All the patients filled out two questionnaires: Short Form 36 (SF-36) and Dermatology Life Quality index (DLQI). The data were analyzed using the statistical software package for social sciences (SPSS). The mean score score of quality of life in dimensions of physical functioning, vitality, and general health in the SF-36 was lower compared to the control group. The mean score in DLQI in patients with hand eczema was 8.68. There was a significant negative correlation between the scores of different dimensions of QOL obtained in the two questionnaires (SF36 and DLQI). The study demonstrated that the quality of life in patients with hand eczema was lower than that of controls. It seems advisable that psychiatric consultations or psychotherapy be included in the treatment of chronic hand eczema.