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. 2019 Jan 23;16(3):305.
doi: 10.3390/ijerph16030305.

Health-Related Quality of Life Impairment among Patients with Different Skin Diseases in Vietnam: A Cross-Sectional Study

Sau Huu Nguyen  1   2 , Long Hoang Nguyen  3 , Giang Thu Vu  4 , Cuong Tat Nguyen  5 , Thu Hoai Thi Le  6   7 , Bach Xuan Tran  8   9 , Carl A Latkin  10 , Cyrus S H Ho  11 , Roger C M Ho  12   13
Affiliations

Health-Related Quality of Life Impairment among Patients with Different Skin Diseases in Vietnam: A Cross-Sectional Study

Sau Huu Nguyen et al. Int J Environ Res Public Health. .

Abstract

Skin diseases have caused a heavy burden on the infected population worldwide. This study aimed to examine the health-related quality of life (HRQOL) among patients with different skin diseases and identify associated factors. A cross-sectional study with 430 participants was conducted at the Vietnam National Hospital of Dermatology and Venereology (NHD) from September to November 2018. The EuroQol-5 Dimensions-5 Levels (EQ-5D-5L) instrument was employed, which measures the EQ-5D index from five domains including mobility, self-care, usual activity, pain/discomfort, and anxiety/depression. Multivariate Tobit regression was adopted to determine factors that were associated with HRQOL (EQ-5D index). The rate of atopic dermatitis was the highest with 28.8%, following by contact dermatitis (17.0%) and skin fungal infections (13.0%). Regarding HRQOL, anxiety/depression was the most common health problem in patients with skin diseases (71.8%), following by pain/discomfort (63.6%). The mean EQ-5D index score was 0.73 (SD = 0.19). The lowest EQ-5D index scores were obtained for females with skin infections (mean = 0.52) and for males with psoriasis (mean = 0.59). Females had significantly lower scores compared to males (Coef. = -0.06; 95% CI = -0.11 to -0.01). Higher income and living in rural areas were also negatively correlated with the EQ-5D index. This study demonstrated the low HRQOL among patients with skin diseases in Vietnam and emphasized the vulnerability of patients with different socioeconomic statuses to their HRQOL.

Keywords: Vietnam; dermatology; health-related quality of life; skin disorder; socioeconomic status.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Percentage of patients reporting any problems in EuroQol-5 Dimensions-5 Levels (EQ-5D-5L) dimensions according to different dermatology disorders.
Figure 2
Figure 2
EQ-5D index according to gender and different dermatology disorders.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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