title: Life events and quality of life in female patients with dermatitis artefacta: a comparative study with siblings and controls.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  If the severity of dermatitis artefacta (DA) is accepted by most authors, few published studies have sought to clarify its etiology and impact. It is in this context that this work aimed to compare Life Events (LE) and quality of life (QoL) scores in patients with DA, in their siblings and in control patients with other chronic dermatological diseases.
  
  
  METHODS
  This is a descriptive and comparative cross-sectional study carried out in the dermatology department of Farhat Hached hospital in Sousse, Tunisia. Thirty female patients diagnosed with DA according to DSM-IV criteria were retrospectively recruited. For each patient with DA, one of her sisters, the closest in age, was enrolled in the siblings group. The control group consisted of thirty female patients with other chronic dermatological diseases, matched with DA patients for age and duration of disease progression. Assessment was based on Paykel inventory for LE and on SF-36 for QoL.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Compared to both control groups, DA patients reported more LE with more objective negative impact of these events and had a lower score and more often impaired mean global score of QoL.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  LE would have a role in the pathogenesis of DA which seems to alter the QoL of patients. These results could help to improve the understanding of DA and incite clinicians to focus not only on the diagnosis and treatment of DA but also on the impact of this disease.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Farhat Hached hospital, Tunisia. Electronic address: yousri.elkissi@rns.tn.
authors.forename: Yousri
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: El Kissi
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Farhat Hached hospital, Tunisia.
authors.forename: Maha
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Chhoumi
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Farhat Hached hospital, Tunisia.
authors.forename: Jaafar
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Nakhli
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, Farhat Hached Hospital, Tunisia.
authors.forename: Nesrine
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Kenani
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, Farhat Hached Hospital, Tunisia.
authors.forename: Mohamed
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Denguezli
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, Farhat Hached Hospital, Tunisia.
authors.forename: Rafiaa
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Nouira
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Farhat Hached hospital, Tunisia.
authors.forename: Bechir
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Ben Hadj Ali
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003872:Dermatitis / Q000523:psychology*; D039721:Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders; D005192:Family Health; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008016:Life Change Events; D008875:Middle Aged; D010555:Personality Inventory; D011788:Quality of Life; D035781:Siblings / Q000523:psychology*; D012871:Skin Diseases / Q000523:psychology*; D014416:Tunisia; D055815:Young Adult