Association between psoriasis, sleep, and dermatological quality of life: results of a cross-sectional study

BACKGROUND: Psoriasis is a chronic relapsing inflammatory T-cell mediated disease who affects patients’ daily activities and life quality. The association between sleep quality, dermatological quality of life (QoL) and psoriasis severity has been poorly investigated to date. The aim of this study is to investigate how sleep quality impacts on the severity of psoriasis, and to assess whether the different therapies used for psoriasis affect the dermatological QoL. METHODS: We conducted a cross-sectional study on 152 adult patients based on specific questionnaires about the sleep quality (PSQI) and the dermatological quality of life (DLQI). Patients were divides into three groups according to severity (mild, moderate and severe) and therapy (group 1: no current therapy or exclusive use of topical drugs, group 2: use of conventional systemic drugs and group 3: biologics). The outcomes were expressed in the form of an Odd Ratio (OR) and for each variable it was commented whether the OR obtained was statistically significant or not. RESULTS: Inferential statistics comparing patients’ DLQI showed that patients in group 3 and group 1 had comparable results. The OR obtained allowed us to state that those not taking biological drugs have a 4-fold higher risk of developing severe psoriasis than those taking them as therapy. No statistical difference was highlighted about sleep quality. CONCLUSIONS: This emphasizes that adequate therapy with biologic drugs allows patients with severe psoriasis to have a comparable QoL to those who are not impaired enough to require systemic or biologic therapy.