Factors influencing quality of life in patients with psoriasis: A large cross-sectional study

Psoriasis is a systemic disease that brings enormous mental pressure and economic burden to patients and has a significant impact on patients' quality of life (QoL). This study aimed to explore factors affecting the dermatology life quality index (DLQI) in patients with psoriasis.

This retrospective cross-sectional study used data sourced from the Psoriasis Diagnosis and Treatment Real-world Database, and 8839 patients with psoriasis (recruited between June 24, 2020 and September 2, 2021) were included. Demographic and clinical characteristics and DLQI scores were retrospectively analyzed, and correlations between DLQI score and age, disease course, psoriasis area and severity index (PASI) score were calculated. Regression analysis was conducted to explore the factors affecting the DLQI scores of patients with psoriasis.

The average DLQI scores were significantly higher in young (8.58 ± 7.22) and middle-aged individuals (8.09 ± 6.61) than those in juveniles (6.00 ± 5.79) and older individuals (7.39 ± 6.29) ( P = 1.70E-15). The average DLQI scores gradually decreased among individuals whose work status were unemployment (10.4 ± 7.83), part-time (9.02 ± 6.83), full-time (8.43 ± 6.90), retired (7.93 ± 6.07), and students (7.10 ± 6.31) ( P = 9.82E-23). Except for those with disease course ≥20 years, DLQI scores increased gradually with prolongation of the disease course ( P = 4.72E-22). The higher the severity of psoriasis, the higher the average DLQI score ( P = 3.79E-113). The presence of psoriatic lesions at the exposed sites significantly affected DLQI scores ( P <0.001). The average DLQI scores were significantly higher among individuals with nail holes, joint pain, and comorbidities than among those without these conditions ( P <0.05). Correlation analysis indicated that the PASI scores were positively correlated with the DLQI scores ( r = 0.26, P = 4.19E-134). Multinomial logistic regression analysis showed significant influencing factors (excluding comorbidity) with different degrees of impact based on the DLQI score ( P <0.05).

Physicians should focus on significant factors, such as sex, age, marital status, education, work status, sub-types, disease course, PASI score, joint pain, and nail holes, to improve the QoL of patients with psoriasis.