Health Status and Quality of Life in Patients with Psoriasis: An Iranian Cross-Sectional Survey

Background Psoriasis has a significant negative impact on patients’ health-related quality of life (HRQOL). This study aims to evaluate HRQOL of adult patients with psoriasis in Iran, and explore the relationship between general and disease-specific outcome measures in psoriasis. Methods Between May and August 2013, a cross-sectional questionnaire survey of consecutive outpatients was conducted at a single clinic in Shiraz, Iran. HRQOL was assessed by the general measure EuroQol 5 dimensions (EQ-5D), visual analogue scale (EQ VAS), and the disease-specific Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI). Disease severity was measured by the Psoriasis Area and Severity Index (PASI). Results Sixty-two patients (76% males) completed the questionnaire with a mean age (SD) of 40.4 (17.5) years. Overall, 39% of the patients used only topical and 48% received systemic non-biological therapy in the past 12 months. Median EQ-5D, EQ VAS, DLQI and PASI scores were 0.73, 60, 8 and 11.75, respectively. Out of the 62 patients, 18%, 26%, 28%, 63%, and 63% reported some or severe problem in mobility, self-care, usual activities, pain/discomfort and anxiety/depression, respectively. EQ-5D and EQ VAS correlated moderately with DLQI (rs = -0.44 for both, p < 0.001), but only EQ VAS correlated significantly with PASI (rs = -0.31, p < 0.01). Conclusion This is the first study from Iran that assesses HRQOL in adult patients with psoriasis by EQ-5D and EQ VAS. Reduction in general HRQOL measured with EQ-5D and EQ-VAS is considerable, mostly in anxiety/depression and pain/discomfort dimensions. EQ-5D scores evaluated in this study provide country-specific data for economic evaluations. Keywords: