Time needed for treatment is the major predictor of quality of life in psoriasis

Background: The literature on predictors of health-related quality of life in psoriasis is inconsistent.

Objective: To assess potential predictors of quality of life in psoriasis.

Methods: In a cross-sectional study involving 130 dermatological practices and outpatient clinics, data of 1,210 patients with psoriasis were collected. Quality of life was evaluated using the Dermatology Life Quality Index. Medical history, clinical and sociodemographic characteristics, therapy and health care features were used as independent variables in a backward multiple regression analysis.

Results: Twelve predictors were included in the model explaining 38% of variance in quality of life. The strongest predictor was daily treatment time (beta = 0.30), followed by patient-defined treatment benefit (beta = -0.18), disease severity (beta = 0.19) and treatment satisfaction (beta = -0.16).

Conclusion: Treatment burden requires special attention when quality of life in psoriasis is to be improved. Since the larger part of variance is left unexplained, further factors predicting quality of life have yet to be detected.