Patients With Psoriasis Score Highly in Depression, Health Anxiety, and Somatosensory Amplification

According to a study published in Cureus, psychiatric assessment and treatment approaches should be included in the treatment of chronic skin diseases because patients with psoriasis score highly in depression, health anxiety, and somatosensory amplification, with a moderate correlation between specific body area involvement.

Researchers aimed to investigate the relationship between psoriasis and diseases such as health anxiety, depression, and somatosensory amplification by administering the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI), Somatosensory Amplification Scale (SSAS), and Health Anxiety Inventory (HAI) questionnaires to participating patients (n=117).

The mean scores from SSAS (31.15 ± 9.46 vs 26.24 ± 8.48), HAI (18.50 [2.0–44.0] vs 13.0 [0.0–43.0]), and BDI (11.0 [0.0–51.0] vs 5.0 [0.0–42.0]) were significantly higher in the psoriasis group than in the control group (P<0.05 in all comparisons). The difference between the psoriasis group and control group in the BAI was not statistically significant.

“Patients with psoriasis score highly in depression, health anxiety, and somatosensory amplification, and there was a moderate correlation between specific body area involvement (especially the scalp and face) and SSAS score,” concluded the study authors. “The results of this study seem to indicate that psychiatric assessment and treatment approaches should be included in the treatment of such chronic skin diseases as psoriasis that follow a life-long remission and relapse pattern,” they added.

Reference
Gürel G, Öncü I, Güler D, Durusu Türkoğlu İN, Soylu S. Psoriasis and its relationship with somatosensory amplification, health anxiety, and depression. Cureus. Published online January 21, 2023. doi:10.7759/cureus.34037