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. 2022 Sep 22;11(19):5553.
doi: 10.3390/jcm11195553.

The Impact of Pruritus on the Quality of Life and Sleep Disturbances in Patients Suffering from Different Clinical Variants of Psoriasis

Kamila Jaworecka  1 , Marian Rzepko  2 , Luiza Marek-Józefowicz  3 , Funda Tamer  4 , Aleksandra A Stefaniak  5 , Magdalena Szczegielniak  6 , Joanna Chojnacka-Purpurowicz  7 , Ayla Gulekon  4 , Jacek C Szepietowski  5 , Joanna Narbutt  6 , Agnieszka Owczarczyk-Saczonek  7 , Adam Reich  1
Affiliations

The Impact of Pruritus on the Quality of Life and Sleep Disturbances in Patients Suffering from Different Clinical Variants of Psoriasis

Kamila Jaworecka et al. J Clin Med. .

Abstract

Background: Quality of life (QoL) and sleep, which are essential for well-being in the mental, physical, and socioeconomic domains, are impaired in psoriatic patients. However, the exact role of the clinical subtype of psoriasis in this aspect remains poorly studied.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to investigate differences in QoL impairment and sleeping problems in patients suffering from various clinical subtypes of psoriasis and to evaluate the effects of pruritus on QoL.

Methods: This cross-sectional, multicenter study included 295 eligible subjects with diagnosed psoriasis. Each patient was examined with the use of the same questionnaire. Measures included predominant subtype of psoriasis, disease severity, pruritus scores, patients' health-related QoL and the incidence of sleep disturbance.

Results: The QoL of most patients was decreased irrespectively of clinical psoriasis subtype, however, the most impaired QoL was in patients with erythrodermic psoriasis. The majority of patients reported sleep disturbances caused by pruritus, albeit there was no relevant differences between analyzed subgroups in this aspect of patients' well-being. Pruritus was an important factor determining QoL and sleeping problems in the studied population.

Conclusions: Identifying the most disturbing area of life and recognizing the most bothersome subjective symptoms of psoriasis are pivotal to focusing on the most relevant treatment goal and achieving therapeutic success.

Keywords: itch; itching; palmoplantar pustulosis; pruritus; psoriasis; quality of life; quality of sleep; sleep disorders; sleep disturbances.

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Conflict of interest statement

K.J. has been a subinvestigator in clinical trials sponsored by Arcutis, Corbus, Kymab Limited, Novartis, Galderma, and Pfizer. A.R. has been a consultant or speaker for AbbVie, Bioderma, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Celgene, Chema Elektromet, Eli Lilly, Galderma, Janssen, Leo Pharma, Medac, Menlo Therapeutics, Novartis, Pierre-Fabre, Sandoz, and Trevi; and principal investigator or subinvestigator in clinical trials sponsored by AbbVie, Arcutis, Argenx, Corbus, Drug Delivery Solutions Ltd., Eli Lilly, Galderma, Genentech, Janssen, Kymab Limited, Leo Pharma, Menlo Therapeutics, MetrioPharm, MSD, Novartis, Pfizer, Trevi, and VielaBio.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Mean Dermatology Life Quality Index score by clinical subtypes of psoriasis.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Degree of psoriasis impact on quality of life based on Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI) scoring in various clinical variants of psoriasis (0–1—no effect, 2–5—small effect, 6–10—moderate effect, 11–20—very large effect, 21–30—extremely large effect on patient’s life).
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