Baseline quality of life as measured by Skindex-16+5 in patients presenting to a referral center for patch testing.

BACKGROUND

The impact of skin disease on heath-related quality of life (QoL) is often underrecognized, and there is little research about health-related QoL in patch-tested populations.

OBJECTIVE

A pilot study to assess baseline QoL in dermatitis patients referred to a specialized center for patch testing.

METHODS

A convenience sample of patients presenting for patch testing (n = 107) completed a survey, Skindex-16+5, which measures QoL in four domains: symptoms, emotions, functioning, and occupational.

RESULTS

Responses were indexed from 0 (never bothered) to 100 (always bothered). Emotions (mean, 67; SD +/- 27) and symptoms (mean, 60; SD +/- 27) demonstrated the lowest QoL. Patients with hand involvement had a worse QoL in all areas, including the occupational domain, compared to patients without hand involvement. Limitations of the study included the referral clinic population and convenience sample. Survey questions added to Skindex-16 regarding the occupational domain have not been validated.

CONCLUSIONS

Patients referred for patch testing endorse a highly negative impact of the disease on their emotional QoL and are also greatly bothered by symptoms. Patch-tested patients with hand dermatitis had a significantly lower QoL across all areas as compared to tested patients without hand involvement. Facial involvement, duration of skin problem, atopic history, occupation relationship, or positive patch-test results were not correlated with QoL.