Emotional Well-Being Is Impaired in Hidradenitis Suppurativa Patients

Aditi Senthilnathan; Sree S Kolli; Leah A Cardwell; Irma M Richardson; Steven R Feldman; Rita O Pichardo

doi:10.1159/000502296

Emotional Well-Being Is Impaired in Hidradenitis Suppurativa Patients

Skin Appendage Disord. 2019 Nov;5(6):366-369. doi: 10.1159/000502296. Epub 2019 Sep 10.

Authors

Aditi Senthilnathan¹, Sree S Kolli¹, Leah A Cardwell¹, Irma M Richardson¹, Steven R Feldman^{1

2

3}, Rita O Pichardo¹

Affiliations

¹ Center for Dermatology Research, Department of Dermatology, Wake Forest School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, USA.
² Department of Pathology, Wake Forest School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, USA.
³ Department of Public Health Sciences, Wake Forest School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, USA.

Abstract

Background: Hidradenitis suppurativa (HS) is a chronic inflammatory condition.

Objective: To measure emotional well-being in HS patients and compare to other populations, assess if there is an effect of disease severity on emotional well-being, and determine if emotional well-being is correlated with quality of life and depression.

Methods: A total of 153 HS subjects were recruited, and 66 Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS) surveys assessing emotional well-being were completed. Norms for comparison populations (disease-free undergraduates and adults) were used. A validated self-assessment tool was used to determine disease severity. Subjects completed the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) and Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI) to examine depression and quality of life, respectively.

Results: HS subjects had lower positive affect than undergraduates and higher negative affect than adults. There were no differences in PANAS scores by Hurley stage (p > 0.05). PANAS scores for HS subjects correlated with worse quality of life (r = 0.66, p < 0.00001) and depression (r = 0.74, p < 0.00001).

Conclusion: HS patients have poor emotional well-being. PANAS scores correlated with worse quality of life and depression. Providing appropriate resources and treatments may be beneficial for HS patients.

Keywords: Depression; Emotional well-being; Hidradenitis suppurativa; Positive and Negative Affect Schedule; Quality of life.