OBJECTIVES: A number of studies have shown substantial burden of psoriasis in western countries, while the humanistic and economic burden of psoriasis in Asia-Pacific Region remains largely unknown. This study aimed to systematically review published literature on quality of life (QoL) and economic burden of psoriasis in the Asia-Pacific (AP) region.

METHODS: Searching strategy were performed in both English and Chinese electronic databases for literature published between January 2000 and June 2017, with the name of 10 selected countries or regions: Australia, China, Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, and Thailand. Abstracts were retrieved to select studies evaluating QoL and economic burden for psoriasis disease in Asia-Pacific region. All local currencies were converted to USD using newly-published exchange rate.

RESULTS: A total of 346 studies were retrieved, of which 7 studies assessed the economic burden of psoriasis and 57 informed on QoL. Almost all the studies (95%) were conducted in Australia, China, Japan, Malaysia and Taiwan. Most studies were cross-sectional through patient survey. The annual direct cost per patient ranged between USD306 and USD1917 in these countries/regions in AP region. Nevertheless, the component of cost and clinic characteristics of patient population were highly diversified among these studies. One study in Taiwan also showed that annual work productivity loss per patient was USD205 for moderate-to-severe psoriasis. QoL were commonly measured by Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI) and demonstrated a large to extremely large impairment due to psoriasis (DLQI score = 6~30). EQ-5D was rarely reported in these studies.

CONCLUSIONS: This review demonstrated that psoriasis imposes a large burden in AP region, however unbalanced research outcomes were observed among those countries/regions. There is still a need for more comprehensive studies on QoL and costs in Asia-Pacific region to inform and support decision-making for best allocation of resources.