Psychiatric comorbidity in patients with Psoriasis: a cross sectional study from North India

Background: Psoriasis is a psychocutaneous disorder whose prognosis is affected by psychological factors. Despite the psychological impact of the disease only 33% of the sufferers receive mental healthcare. The current study was planned to estimate the prevalence and factors affecting psychiatric co-morbidities among psoriasis patients in a tertiary care hospital. Materials and methods: 288 consecutive patients diagnosed with psoriasis of the age 18 and above were inducted in the study. Patient were included after signing informed consent. Patient particulars were noted in the sociodemographic profile sheet and clinical profile sheet designed for the study. Diagnosis of psychiatric disorders was made according to ICD-10. If the patients are found to have anxiety or depressive disorders, the severity of the same was assessed by using appropriate scales. Result: Anxiety was reported in 66 (22.9%) patients. Mild depression found in 23 (8.0%) patients, moderate depression occurred in 25 (8.7%) patients, and severe depression recorded in 23 (8.0%) patients. Psychiatric comorbidity was present in 74.3%, with maximum patients being diagnosed with anxiety disorder unspecified. The association between psychiatric comorbidity and higher educational level, living in joint families, in urban areas and lower middle socioeconomic status was statistically significant. Conclusion: Our study showed the psychiatric burden to be significant in patients with psoriasis. It represents an unmet need with treatment of psychiatric comorbidity leading to improved quality of life.