title: Quality of life in patients with toenail onychomycosis.
abstract: Onychomycosis is a common, chronic fungal nail infection that can have a significant negative impact on patients' physical and social functioning and emotional well-being. This study was undertaken to assess health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in patients with toenail onychomycosis. The Onychomycosis QoL questionnaire (ONYCHO), as a disease-specific instrument, and the Short Form 36 Health Survey (SF-36) as a generic instrument, were applied in 140 consecutive patients affected by onychomycosis. Women and patients who were experiencing toenail onychomycosis for more than 2 years were reporting worse disease-specific HRQoL. The patients working in blue-collar occupations and patients with greater involvement of individual nails were more affected by onychomycosis regarding symptoms. The results of this study confirm that although onychomycosis is not a life-threatening disease, it can significantly reduce patients' QoL.
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatovenereology, Military Medical Centre, Belgrade, Serbia. drdanicamilo@gmail.com
authors.forename: Danica
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Milobratović
authors.forename: Slavenka
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Janković
authors.forename: Jelica
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Vukičević
authors.forename: Jelena
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Marinković
authors.forename: Janko
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Janković
authors.forename: Zoran
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Railić
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009262:Nails / Q000382:microbiology* / Q000473:pathology*; D014009:Onychomycosis / Q000382:microbiology / Q000473:pathology* / Q000523:psychology*; D011788:Quality of Life / Q000523:psychology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: ONYCHO; Onychomycosis; SF-36; dermatology; quality of life