title: Quality of life in patients with cutaneous leishmaniasis.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Leishmaniasis is a zoonotic infection caused by a protozoa belonging to the genus Leishmania. Its clinical manifestations range from a self-healing cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) to lethal visceral leishmaniasis. We aim to examine the quality of life of patients with CL in Kerman, Iran.
  
  
  METHODS
  In this cross-sectional study we evaluated 124 patients with CL. The Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI) questionnaire was used for measuring quality of life. Data on demographics and characteristics of the lesions also were collected. Mann-Whitney U-test and Kruskal-Wallis were used for data analyses.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The mean DLQI score was 5.87 ± 5.96. We observed the highest effect in the symptoms and feelings domains; the lowest effect was seen in the treatment domain of the DLQI. There was no significant difference in DLQI scores between men and women. Patients with ulcerated lesions had lower quality of life (P < 0.05).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  CL significantly affects the quality of life of patients. Further studies are suggested to examine the effect of its treatment on the quality of life in these patients.
authors.affiliation: Leishmaniasis Research Center, Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Iran.
authors.forename: Behrooze
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Vares
authors.forename: Mina
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mohseni
authors.forename: Amireh
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Heshmatkhah
authors.forename: Saeideh
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Farjzadeh
authors.forename: Hossein
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Safizadeh
authors.forename: Simin
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Shamsi-Meymandi
authors.forename: Zahra
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Rahnama
authors.forename: Leila
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Reghabatpour
authors.forename: Omid
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Fathi
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007492:Iran; D016773:Leishmaniasis, Cutaneous / Q000150:complications / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011788:Quality of Life; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires