Psychiatric morbidity and skin disease: what dermatologists think they see

Abstract

It has been suggested that skin disease and psychological disturbance may be linked. Recent work has focused on the fatal outcome associated with some dermatological disorders as a result of suicide. The impressions of dermatologists about how much psychological or psychiatric morbidity they see related to dermatological disease has not been addressed. The survey reported here revealed that most dermatologists recognized the relationship and demonstrated the perceived need for clinical psychology and psychiatric services for patients with dermatological disorders. It confirmed the impression that in a small number of cases, skin complaints are associated with attempted or completed suicide.