OBJECTIVES: To assess the consequences of dermatological diseases on the quality of life of the patients and to perform an evaluation of depressive symptomatology among them. METHODS: Every Belgian Dermatologist received a sample of 30 questionnaires including the DLQI, the SF-12 and the CES-D. During the “National Week of Dermatology”, each participating dermatologist distributed the questionnaire to their first 30 patients coming to their consulting room and they made a register of all the dermatological diseases of their patients. The CES-D scale allows to perform epidemiological studies of depressive symptomatology in the general population. A score > 17 indicates a possible depressive symptomatology, a score > 23 indicates a probable depressive symptomatology. RESULTS: In total, 105 out of the 650 Belgian dermatologists completed the register. A total of 896 questionnaires were by 513 Flemish responders (57%) and 383 Walloon responders (43%). The male/female ratio was 37%/63% and the mean age was 46.76 years. The disease allocation was: Psoriasis 15%, Atopic Dermatitis & Contact Eczema 11%, Acne 11%, Warts 9%, Dry skin 8%, Others 46%. Possible depressive symptomatology was observed in 36% of the population (Flemish patients: 32%; Walloons patients: 44%). Concerning probable depressive symptomatology, 20% of our population (Flemish patients: 17%; Walloons atients: 26%, p<0.01). CONCLUSIONS: Although females generally reported greater risk of high depressive symptoms, this is still a concern for males. In the Rield study assessing depressive symptoms in older men and women (age 65 to 75), 23.1% of women and 12.8% of men reported high depressive symptoms (CES-D score >or=16). When we compare those results with the ones obtained in our current study, it confirms that dermatological diseases result in psychological changes that seriously affect patients’ lives.