Illness perception and quality of life in patients with contact dermatitis.

Background: People's subjective perceptions of illness are important determinants of their ways of coping with health threats and the ensuing physical and mental outcomes, including quality of life (QoL), which has been consistently reported to be impaired by contact dermatitis.

Objectives: To investigate the relationships of subjective illness perceptions and dermatological QoL in atopic, contact and occupational dermatitis patients and a comparison group of patients with other dermatological diseases.

Patients And Methods: Three hundred and three patients of four diagnostic groups filled in the Brief Illness Perception Questionnaire and the Skindex-16 (+ occupational impact items) Dermatological QoL questionnaire before clinical examination and patch testing.