Quality of Life Assessment Among Patients with Papulosquamous Disorders in Southern Nigeria

Papulosquamous disorders (PSDs) are a broad group of relatively common dermatoses that run a chronic course; usually with unsatisfactory outcomes which impacts on the Quality of Life (QOL) of subjects. Few studies have attempted to quantify their burden on QOL in this environment. This study aims to assess the disease impact on QOL of affected subjects.

This was a descriptive cross-sectional study conducted at the University of Benin Teaching Hospital, Benin City among two hundred subjects with PSDs. Consecutive patients with PSDs were recruited for this study after obtaining ethical approval. The Dermatology Life Quality index (DLQI) questionnaire was used to estimate the impact of these dermatoses on the QOL of subjects. Data was analysed using IBM SPSS version 21.

PSDs affected all age groups with a mean age of 40.9 ± 16.4 years. Male: female ratio was 1: 1.30. The mean DLQI score was 9.5 ±5.9. Pityriasis rubra pilaris subject recorded the highest burden with DLQI score of 14.0 ±5.0, followed by psoriasis; 11.7 ± 6.3. Over half (57%) of participants had severe impact on their QOL; 34.0% had "extremely large" impact. QOL were similar among gender; but worse in extremes of age. The most commonly affected domains using the DLQI questionnaire were the "symptoms" and "feelings" domains; with 34% and 21% affected respectively.

Most subjects had severe impact on their QOL from these dermatoses; which mostly affected the symptoms and feelings of participants. Efforts to improve treatment outcome through interdisciplinary care alongside psychological assessment should be escalated.