Do clinical severity scores correlate with the quality of life in children with psoriasis? A cross-sectional study of Iranian pediatric patients.

Background: Psoriasis is a common chronic dermatosis that can negatively affect patients' lives.

Aim: To obtain more insight about how having psoriasis and how the various clinical and physical characteristics of the disease impact the health-related quality of life (HRQoL) of pediatric patients.

Methods: A retrospective cross-sectional study was designed with 40 pediatric patients with psoriasis. HRQoL was evaluated using the Children Dermatology Life Quality Index (CDLQI).

Results: A total of 40 patients enrolled in this study. The mean age of participants was 12.42 ± 7.1 years (age range: 4-16 years), 21 males (52.5%), and 19 females (47.5%). The mean Psoriasis Area Severity Index (PASI) score was 8.03 ± 9.31 with a range of 0.4-25. Mean CDLQI score was 18.87 ± 8.15, indicating a considerable burden on health-related QoL. There was a strong positive correlation between CDLQI and PASI scores (p < .001, r: .653).

Conclusion: The negative effect of psoriasis on HRQoL in pediatrics was confirmed, and a strong correlation between disease severity scores and HRQoL in children with psoriasis was found in this study. Taking HRQoL indices into account while managing adolescent patients will improve our insight into the patient's experience and may provide better patient adherence to treatment.