Psychiatric Morbidity in Psoriasis: Prevalence and Correlates in India

As a common dermatological disorder, psoriasis is well known to be associated with psychological morbidity. The database on this aspect from the developing countries is limited. In this prospective cross-sectional study 103 psoriasis outpatients were evaluated along with 55 healthy controls matched for sociodemographic profile and on attitude to appearance (ATT) scale. Duration, severity (Psoriasis Activity and Severity Index) and impact (IMPACT) of illness, and psychiatric morbidity (General Health Questionnaire) and diagnosis (International Classification of Diseases-10 Revision) were assessed. Psychiatric morbidity was identified in 25 subjects (prevalence rate of 24.27%). Twenty-three subjects had a depressive disorder including adjustment disorder (15 cases), depressive episode (7 cases) and dysthymia (1 case). Psychiatric morbidity was significantly correlated with dysfunction due to and impact of the illness. The study highlights the need to develop a cross-cultural database on psychosocial aspects and psychiatric morbidity associated with psoriasis (German J Psychiatry 2005; 8: 17-22).