Self-medication of psoriasis in southwestern China

Abstract

Background: Medication adherence is essential for psoriasis management. Although studies have determined the prevalence and correlative factors of non-adherence, as far as we know, there has been no study specifically addressing them in China.

Methods: Anonymous 23-item questionnaires were distributed to 324 psoriatic patients from June 2012 to June 2013. χ(2) test, normality test, Student's t test or Mann-Whitney U test, Bonferroni correction and the binary logistic regression model were applied.

Results: Self-medication of psoriasis was high in China (82.4%). Joint involvement, absence of communication with families and short communication duration with doctors were the three top factors affecting adherence. Besides low efficacy (16.0%) and recurrence frustration (27.0%), we found that patients' deception by sham advertisings (24.1%) is an non-negligible issue.

Conclusion: Psoriasis self-medication in China was high. Improvement of patients' communication with families and/or doctors were suggested to be crucial to enhance adherence. Meanwhile, extermination of sham advertisings by administrative agencies is of great concern.