Relationships between psoriasis severity indices and dermatological life quality index in children with psoriasis

Abstract

Objective — to аssess the impact of dermatosis on the quality of life of children with psoriasis. Materials and methods. Psoriasis severity indices (BSA, PASI, PGA) and dermatological life quality indices (DLQI, CDLQI) in children with psoriasis aged 4 to 17 years depending on the clinical and epidemiological features of dermatosis were determined. A correlation analysis of the presence of a relationship between the obtained indicators was carried out. Results and discussion. In 73.81 % of children, the BSA index was higher than 10, which provided an average BSA of 25.85 (8.78—38.38). The calculated PASI index at the beginning of treatment averaged 9.3 (3.6—18.9). 53.06 % of children had PASI < 10. The PASI index at the first diagnosis was almost 1.5 times lower than in relapses (p = 0.043). The average PGA index was 3 (2—3), namely, 32.99 % of children had PGA 1—2, 43.20 % had PGA 3 and 23.81 % of children had PGA 4. In the group of children aged 4—7 years, there was the smallest number of participants with the PGA index 4 (7.69 %), while in the group aged 16/17—17 years, this number was the largest (41.49 %) (p = 0.039). The calculated DLQI in children with psoriasis was 5 [3—9]. The average DLQI indicator in the group of girls was statistically higher than in the group of boys (p = 0.016). Statistically significant differences were identified between DLQI in the age groups, where the highest impact on quality of life was found for the children aged 16—17 years (p < 0.001) and depended on the clinical form of psoriasis: in scalp psoriasis, the impact on quality of life was moderate, and in inverse psoriasis, it was insignificant (p = 0.021). It was found that in moderate­severe/severe psoriasis, the impact on the quality of life in children increased and was assessed as moderate, while in mild psoriasis, the impact was assessed as minor (p < 0.05). Conclusions. The course of psoriasis in children can be assessed as moderate and severe, but in the first episodes of psoriasis in droplet and inverse forms, the course is mostly mild. The intensity of skin manifestations increases with age, especially in case of the disease recurrences in the plaque form. On the whole in children, psoriasis has an ambiguous impact on the quality of life: in boys, the impact of the disease is minor; in girls, it is moderate. Damage to the visible skin areas caused by psoriasis, an increase in the area affected by the pathological process and an increase in the intensity of skin manifestations with age leads to a more negative impact on the quality of life of a child.