Background: Functional pruritus (FP) is a type of chronic pruritus that is a somatoform disease in nature, triggered by psychogenic factors. Psoriasis is a chronic, inflammatory, and pruritic skin disease that causes significant cosmetic problems and psychological distress.
Objective: In this study, we aimed to investigate the effects of functional pruritus on quality of life and to compare these with the effects of mild psoriasis.
Methods: A total of 73 patients (40 with psoriasis and 33 with FP) were enrolled into the study. All the participants were asked to complete the Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI) and World Health Organization (WHO) Quality of Life, short form, Turkish version (WHOQOL-BREF-TR). Pruritus severity was evaluated subjectively with a visual analog scale (VAS) in both groups, and psoriasis severity was evaluated with the Psoriasis Area and Severity Index. Patients' age, gender, educational status, duration of disease, and medications were recorded.
Results: There was no significant difference in quality of life between the two groups. VAS values were significantly higher in the FP group. A negative correlation was found between age and the physical domain on the WHOQOL-BREF-TR, and also between the psychological domain on the WHOQOL-BREF-TR and the duration of the disease in FP patients. In psoriasis patients, a negative correlation was found between age and DLQI scores.
Conclusion: FP has a negative impact on quality of life that is comparable to that of mild psoriasis. It seems that the visibility of psoriatic lesions and the cosmetic concerns in psoriasis patients do not result in a more severely impaired quality of life than in patients with FP.