title: Effect of Age at Diagnosis on Chronic Quality of Life and Long-Term Outcomes of Individuals with Psoriasis.
abstract: Psoriasis is a skin disorder that frequently begins in the pediatric and young adult population but imposes physical and psychosocial burdens over a lifetime. The objective of this retrospective cohort study was to evaluate the effect of age at diagnosis on the lifetime outcomes of psoriasis patients. Individuals with psoriasis (N = 114) completed a questionnaire regarding disabilities, relationships, education, finances, and medical outcomes. Responses were compared among quartiles of age at diagnosis and regression analyses were performed. Those diagnosed at a younger age were more likely to have a greater lifetime Dermatology Life Quality Index (LT DLQI) (p < 0.001), have felt depressed (p = 0.003), believe that psoriasis had caused their depression (p < 0.001), experience lifetime sleep problems (p = 0.004), use recreational drugs (p < 0.001), hide their psoriasis over their lifetime (p < 0.001), and experience more severe lifetime discrimination in social settings (p = 0.002). Early onset psoriasis is associated with depression, social discrimination, and greater LT DLQI.
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts.
authors.forename: Grace E
authors.initials: GE
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, Georgia.
authors.forename: Elizabeth
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Seidler
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts.|Clinical Unit for Research Trials and Outcomes in Skin, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts.
authors.forename: Alexa Boer
authors.initials: AB
authors.lastname: Kimball
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011379:Prognosis; D011565:Psoriasis / Q000523:psychology*; D011788:Quality of Life / Q000523:psychology*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult