OBJECTIVES: Psoriasis has a substantial influence on health-related quality of life and patient satisfaction with treatment because this chronic skin disease requires long-term treatment and regular follow-up visits. The aim of this study was to assess health-related quality of life and satisfaction with treatment in patients with psoriasis, to identify factors associated with health-related quality of life and patient satisfaction with psoriasis therapies.

METHODS: The sample patients were selected from a nationally representative department of dermatology of eight university hospitals in South Korea. Clinical characteristics were collected from patient medical records. Health-related quality of life was measured using the self-administered short form health survey questionnaire, and satisfaction with treatment was assessed by psoriasis-specific satisfaction questionnaires. Factors associated with health-related quality of life and treatment satisfaction in patients with psoriasis were analyzed using a generalized linear model.

RESULTS: The study sample consisted of 173 patients with psoriasis. The mean patient age was 47 years old and mean duration of psoriasis was 15.5 years. Severity of psoriasis did not influence patients’ physical component of health-related quality of life, but significantly influence mental component of health-related quality of life. Patient satisfaction with treatment was significantly lower in patients with a higher psoriasis area and severity index (p = 0.025) without adjustment for the study variables.

CONCLUSIONS: Health-related quality of life in patients with psoriasis is affected by sociodemographic and clinical factors including psoriasis severity, comorbidity, and medications used for treatment. Patient satisfaction with treatment was negatively related to severity of psoriasis. An understanding of the variables with negative or positive impacts on health-related quality of life is of great value in improving the treatment and management of psoriasis.