Emotional Well-Being Is Impaired in Hidradenitis Suppurativa Patients.

Background: Hidradenitis suppurativa (HS) is a chronic inflammatory condition.

Objective: To measure emotional well-being in HS patients and compare to other populations, assess if there is an effect of disease severity on emotional well-being, and determine if emotional well-being is correlated with quality of life and depression.

Methods: A total of 153 HS subjects were recruited, and 66 Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS) surveys assessing emotional well-being were completed. Norms for comparison populations (disease-free undergraduates and adults) were used. A validated self-assessment tool was used to determine disease severity. Subjects completed the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) and Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI) to examine depression and quality of life, respectively.

Results: HS subjects had lower positive affect than undergraduates and higher negative affect than adults. There were no differences in PANAS scores by Hurley stage ( > 0.05). PANAS scores for HS subjects correlated with worse quality of life ( = 0.66, < 0.00001) and depression ( = 0.74, < 0.00001).

Conclusion: HS patients have poor emotional well-being. PANAS scores correlated with worse quality of life and depression. Providing appropriate resources and treatments may be beneficial for HS patients.