Quality of life of psoriasis patients and their partners in Mashhad, Iran

Background: Psoriasis is a disease that influences the physical, psychological, and social dimensions of the lives of those affected. We aimed to evaluate the effect of psoriasis disease on the quality of life of patients and their partners. Methods: Forty psoriasis patients were eligible for inclusion in this study. Each participant’s clinical data were collected, including age, sex, PASI score, history of treatment, family history of the disease, educational level of the patients and their spouse, profession, and history of divorce. The patients and partners completed the Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI) and Family Dermatology Life Quality Index (FDLQI) questionnaires, respectively. The results were compared against 40 age and sexmatched healthy individuals and their partners. Results: The mean DLQI score was 11.75 ± 7.25 among patients, and the mean FDLQI score of their partners was 12.20 ± 5.63. There was a significant difference between the patients/partners and the respective control groups in DLQI and FDLQI scores (P < 0.001). There was a significant correlation between disease severity and DLQI/FDLQI scores (P < 0.05). Also, a meaningful relationship was noted between the quality of life of patients and their spouses (r = 0.48, P = 0.001). Besides, the PASI score shared a significant relationship with the DLQI (P = 0.003, r = 0.46) and FDLQI (P = 0.001, r = 0.56) scores. Conclusion: We conclude that psoriasis harms the quality of life of both patients and their families, which deteriorates with an increase in disease severity and PASI scores.