title: Health-related quality of life in psoriasis: an analysis of Psocare project patients.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Psoriasis is a common, chronic, immune-mediated skin disorder that may be complicated by psoriatic arthritis in up to one-third of patients. Psoriasis treatments are increasingly effective, yet more expensive, thus requiring rational decision-making on interventional priorities. The ability to perform cost-utility analyses is hindered by the lack of algorithms that allow the inference of utility measures, like QALY, from specific dermatological health-related quality-of-life (HR-QoL) measures (e.g. Dermatology Life Quality Index [DLQI]). This study aimed to assess whether psoriasis-related HR-QoL data (DLQI) could be used to obtain utility measures for use in economic analyses.
  
  
  METHODS
  Psoriasis patients attending 11 Italian Psocare project treatment centers over a 19-day period were enrolled and completed a questionnaire, including several HR-QoL scales and sociodemographic/clinical data, and underwent a clinical examination. Data were subjected to a Multiple Correspondence Analysis and multiple regression analysis to determine the contribution of single items to the HR-QoL.
  
  
  RESULTS
  DLQI and Psychological General Well-Being Index (PGWBI) scores were most closely correlated with the EuroQol health status index. Age and gender were considered confounding factors, while pain and arthritis contributed significantly to HR-QoL deterioration. For disease severity, the need for hospitalization and the number of examinations, but not the Psoriasis Area Severity Index (PASI), contributed to HR-QoL deterioration.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Recent historical clinical and HR-QoL data from psoriasis patients can reproducibly define a health status index, such as the EuroQol SD-5Q, that could be used reliably to estimate QALYs for use in cost-utility analyses to compare the cost-benefit profiles of competing therapies.
authors.affiliation: CEIS, University of Rome Tor Vergata, Rome, Italy. Federico.spandonaro@uniroma2.it
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Spandonaro
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Altomare
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Berardesca
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Calzavara-Pinton
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Chimenti
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Girolomoni
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Peserico
authors.forename: A Puglisi
authors.initials: AP
authors.lastname: Guerra
authors.forename: G A
authors.initials: GA
authors.lastname: Vena
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Polistena
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Ayala
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D005260:Female; D006305:Health Status Indicators; D006801:Humans; D007558:Italy; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D015397:Program Evaluation; D011565:Psoriasis / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000628:therapy; D011788:Quality of Life; D019057:Quality-Adjusted Life Years; D012107:Research Design; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D012737:Sex Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires