title: Psychological distress and investment in one's appearance in patients with pemphigus.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Pemphigus vulgaris is a chronic disease not currently curable. Physical involvement and the impact of chronic therapies can lead patients to changes in psychological and relational areas.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To provide a measure of psychological distress, dysfunctional investment in one's appearance, and their relationship.
  
  
  METHODS
  Self-administered questionnaires (ASI, HADS) were given to 74 pemphigus inpatients.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Strong associations between psychological distress and dysfunctional investment in one's appearance were observed [adjusted odds ratio (OR)=7.36, 95% confidence intervals (CI) 1.20-45.11; OR 5.38, 95% CI 0.81-35.87, respectively, for appearance stereotyping and body-image vulnerability], together with a perceived high disease severity (OR 6.03, 95% CI 1.90-23.46).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our results are compatible with the idea that some forms of psychological distress could be in part due to one's perception of his/her own body image.
authors.affiliation: Divisione di Oncologia e Dermatologia Oncologica, IDI-IRCCS, Roma, Italy. eva.mazzotti@tiscali.it
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Mazzotti
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Mozzetta
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Antinone
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Alfani
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Cianchini
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Abeni
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001828:Body Image; D002908:Chronic Disease; D005260:Female; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010392:Pemphigus / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012649:Self Concept