Postal questionnaire study of disability in the community associated with psoriasis

Abstract

Abstract Objective : To study the disability caused by psoriasis in patients recorded as having psoriasis by their general practitioner. Design : Postal questionnaire survey using the psoriasis disability index and SF-36. Setting : Five general practices in Cleveland. Subjects : Of 767 patients identified, 546 completed the questionnaire and 435 were eligible and gave informed consent. Main outcome measures : Scores on SF-36 and psoriasis disability index. Results : The psoriasis disability index score was highly negatively correlated with all eight of the SF-36 health measures (P<0.0001 for each), and the manual social classes scored higher than the non-manual social classes (P<0.0001). The manual social class group scored significantly lower scores than the controls on all the SF-36 scales, and the non-manual group scored significantly lower for physical and mental role limitation (P<0.0004 and P = 0.026), mental health (P<0.0001), energy and vitality (P<0.0004), and health perception (P<0.0001). Also, the manual group had poorer health perception on five of the SF-36 variables when compared with the non-manual group. Conclusions : Patients with psoriasis have an overall lower perception of their quality of life than healthy controls, and those in the lower social classes suffer a greater degree of disability from their disease than the higher social classes. Key messages In this study people with psoriasis had a greater disability than healthy controls These patients did not consult about their skin condition frequently, yet most used some treatment The manual social classes suffer greater disability than non-manual classes The psoriasis disability index may help measure disability in general practice