Psychometric Evaluation of Patients With Atopic Dermatitis and Comparison With Patients With Psoriasis

Atopic dermatitis and psoriasis are two dermatological diseases that affect the mental health of patients. The purpose of this research is to investigate the comparison of the psychometric characteristics of two groups of patients with psoriasis and atopic dermatitis respectively focusing on depression, personality, hostility and psychosomatic burden. Τhe sample was consisted by 100 patients with psoriasis and 40 patients with atopic dermatitis, respectively. Specific questionnaires were given for the psychometric evaluation of patients with atopic dermatitis and psoriasis. The Beck's Depression Inventory (BDI), the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire (EPQ) the Brief Symptom Inventory SCL-90 scale, and the HDHQ questionnaire (Psychometric Hostility and Direction of Hostility Questionnaire). Patients with atopic dermatitis have statistically significantly higher scores on the scale of somatization and paranoid ideation, while patients with psoriasis have statistically significantly higher scores on the scale of depression. On the personality scales, patients with atopic dermatitis have on average statistically significantly higher scores on the psychoticism scale and lower scores on the lying scale than the psoriatic patients. Patients with atopic dermatitis present statistically significantly higher scores on the scale of paranoid hostility than patients with psoriasis. Patients receiving medication as well as the interaction of disease group with receiving medication are statistically significantly related to the psychopathology index. Patients' scores on the psychotic scale of the EPQ are statistically significantly related to the duration of the illness and the patient group, gender and medication intake. The psychosocial effects of psoriasis and atopic dermatitis on patients' mental health are demonstrated in the present study based on patient scores on psychometric scales and psychopathology index.