Patients With Psoriasis Have Anxiety, Depression, and Poor Individual Coping Resources
Patients with psoriasis scored high on hypochondriasis scales, signaling associations with anxiety, depression, suicidal ideation, and poor individual coping resources, according to a recent publication in Dermatology.
Researchers aimed to assess hypochondriasis and personality traits in psoriasis patients by conducting an observational study of patients using the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 (MMPI-2) test. Demographic and clinical data were collected.
The mean age of the patients was 53.7 (±13.5) years with a mean disease duration of 23.3 (±15.7) years. A total of 27.9% and at least 25% of patients were observed to have pathologically elevated scores in the hypochondriasis and MMPI-2 scales, respectively. The Ego Strength and Dominance scales had the lowest scores. Female gender was associated with higher scores in the hypochondriasis scale. Any alcohol consumption was reported in 72.8% of patients and heavy alcohol consumption was reported in 8.1%.
“About one third of patients with psoriasis have high scores in the MMPI-2 hypochondriasis evaluation scale,” concluded the study authors. “Poor individual coping resources also appeared to be distinctive psychological features in a significant proportion of psoriatic patients,” they added.
Reference
Gisondi P, Geat D, Ferrazzi A, Bellinato F, Girolomoni G. Hypochondriasis and personality traits of patients with chronic plaque psoriasis. Dermatology. Published online July 29, 2021. doi:10.1159/000517018
