Background: Eosinophils are multifunctional cells of innate immunity and play a pivotal role in allergic, antiparasitic, phagocytotic, and tissue repair functions. These cells are sentinel mediators of pruritus. The increase in the absolute eosinophil count (AEC) in pruritic dermatoses is considered an objective marker of disease severity. The dermatology life quality index (DLQI) is a questionnaire assessing subjective impairment in quality of life. Objectives: To assess the correlation between AEC and DLQI in pruritic dermatoses. Methods: This cross-sectional observational-correlational study was carried out over a period of 6 months in a tertiary care center on 100 patients diagnosed with various clinical forms of pruritic dermatoses after obtaining informed consent. The DLQI score was calculated using a pre-validated questionnaire followed by the determination of AEC in whole blood samples. Results: Most patients had inflammatory diseases (26%), followed by infections (16%) and urticaria (14%). Mild eosinophilia was observed in 28% of cases, moderate eosinophilia in 22%, and severe eosinophilia in 6% of the cases. In terms of the DLQI score, the impact of the disease on quality of life was profound in 37% of the patients and enormous among 12% of them. Quality of life was unaffected in 5% of the cases. Overall, there was a significant strong positive correlation between AEC and DLQI (r = 0.649, P < 0.0001). Conclusions: A significant correlation was noticed between AEC and subjective DLQI as a marker of disease burden in various forms of pruritic dermatoses. Thus, AEC can be regarded as a perceived marker of disease prognostication, an objective equivalent to quality of life, and, most importantly, a potential target for therapeutic interventions.

Background: Seborrheic dermatitis (SD) is an inflammatory disease affecting seborrheic areas of the skin. Scalp SD varies from mild, manifesting as dandruff, to erythematous lesions with greasy scales. SD negatively affects patients’ quality of life. Methods: This is a cross-sectional study investigating the relationship between quality of life and disease severity in patients with dandruff and scalp SD at the Dermatology and Venereology Outpatient Clinic, of Dr. Cipto Mangunkusumo General Hospital. SD severity was assessed by the modified Seborrheic Dermatitis Area and Severity Index (SDASI), and quality of life was assessed by the Indonesian version of the Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI). Results: A total of 96 subjects with scalp SD were recruited, comprising 86 subjects with mild SD and 10 subjects with moderate SD. DLQI scoring revealed 5 subjects (5%) felt no effect of SD at all on their lives, 10 subjects (10%) felt small effect, 38 subjects (40%) felt moderate effect, 32 subjects (33%) felt very large effect, and 2 subjects (2%) felt extremely large effect on their lives. There is no significant difference between SD severity with the average DLQI score in the mild SD group (8. 73 ± 4. 9) and the moderate SD group (9. 30 ± 6. 13), P=0. 737. Furthermore, no significant difference was found between the DLQI scores in the male (9. 86 ± 4. 7) and female (8. 18 ± 5. 13) groups, P=0. 116. Spearman’ s correlation analysis revealed no significant relationship between age and DLQI scores (r=-0, 104, P=0, 313). Conclusions: Our study concludes that SD negatively affects the quality of life.

Background: Psoriasis is a chronic skin disorder that can significantly affect a patient’s quality of life (QoL). The goal of this study was to determine the QoL in patients with psoriasis and to investigate the correlation between the QoL, demographic data, and clinical severity of psoriasis.Methods: This prospective, cross-sectional study was conducted from April 2014 to January 2015. One hundred patients with plaque type psoriasis from the Phototherapy Clinic of Razi Hospital, Tehran, Iran were selected and asked to complete questionnaires.The Psoriasis Area Severity Index (PASI) to measure the severity of psoriasis, and the Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI) was used for the assessment of the quality of life.Results: The total DLQI score of the all participants was between 0 and 29 with a mean score of 10.6 ± 6.4. The DLQI scores ranged from “very large” to “extremely large” in 45% of the patients. The mean score was 9.2 ± 6.6 in the male group and 12.1 ± 5.9 in the female group, which showed a statically significant difference (P=0.02). Other variables associated with an impaired QoL were age (P=0.002) and PASI (P=0.01). The impact on QoL was higher in younger patients, and in patients with higher PASI scores.Conclusion: In conclusion, although psoriasis is a benign disorder, this study confirms our initial hypothesis that psoriasis significantly impairs the QoL, which is more pronounced in younger patients, women, and patients with a more severe disease (higher PASI scores).

Background: Hirsutism is defined as excess terminal hair growth over androgen-dependent areas in women. It may cause significant social and psychological stigma with a negative impact on the quality of life. However, there is a dearth of data regarding this important parameter from the Indian sub-continent. Objectives: A cross-sectional study was performed to elucidate the quality of life of women with hirsutism using the dermatology life quality index (DLQI). Methods: The severity of hirsutism was graded by modified Ferriman-Gallwey Score (F-G score) and correlated with quality of life by employing self-administered questionnaires of DLQI. Results: Of 40womenwith hirsutism (mean DLQI score 5. 55, 1. 501), 3% demonstratednoeffect, 52% small effect, and 45% moderate effect. Among domains, “, symptoms and feelings”,had the highest mean DLQI. Moreover, F-G score and DLQI had a weak positive but insignificant correlation. There was no significant correlation between DLQI and variables like age, marital status, occupation, and polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS). Conclusions: Hirsutism had a small to moderate impact on the quality of life, with symptoms and feelings as the most affected domain.

Background: Mycosis fungoides (MF) is a lymphoproliferative disorder characterized by skin-homing atypical lymphocytes. This study aimed to evaluate the quality of life (QoL) in MF patients in the early stages of the disease and the associated factors using the Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI). Methods: Thirty MF patients (21 females/9 males) with a mean age of 46. 73±, 15. 9 years and in the early stages of the disease (26 stage Ι,and 4 stage Ι, Ι, ) were enrolled and were asked to fill the DLQI questionnaire. Results: The mean DLQI score was 9. 93±, 5. 89. The QoL was largely affected by the disease in near half of the patients (46. 7% of patients had a DLQI score11-20). QoL was significantly correlated with educational level and was more impaired in patients with lower educational status (DLQI score spearman rho=-0. 382, P=0. 037). QoL was not associated with sex, age, disease stage and disease duration. The symptom and feeling dimension of DLQI was significantly more impaired in patients with both patch and plaque compared to patch only (spearman rho= 0. 397, P= 0. 03). Conclusion: This study demonstrates how largely patients’,QoL is influenced in the early stages of MF, especially in patients with lower educational levels.

Background & Objective: Psoriasis is a chronic and relapsing disease with a prevalence of 2%. Since it is a chronic and non-fatal skin disease, its impact on quality of life in patients is underestimated compared to other diseases. This study points out the importance of the quality of life in these patients and their correlation with disease severity. Materials & Methods: Quality of life of psoriasis patients was assessed using the Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI) and psoriasis severity was measured, using Psoriasis Area Severity Index (PASI). DLQI were compared regarding age, gender and affected areas in patients. Results: Among 135 patients, 67 (49. 6%) were male and 68 (50. 4%) were female. The mean age of subjects was 41. 49± 15. 43 years (ranging from 17 to 83 years). The mean DLQI score was 10. 73± 7. 3 (ranging from 0 to 26). Independent t-test showed that the mean DLQI score was significantly greater in women than men (P=0. 031). Spearman test showed positive correlation between DLQI and age as well as PASI and DLQI. Conclusion: Results of this study showed a positive and significant correlation between PASI score and quality of life of patients, which implies that with increasing the severity of the disease, the effect of psoriasis on patients' quality of life increases as well.