Mental health and quality of life in chronic and recurrent vs first-episode dermatophytosis: a cross-sectional study

BACKGROUND: Chronic and recurrent dermatophytosis (CRD) might affect mental health morbidity as well as the quality of life of patients, although it has not been conclusively proven. AIM: To study the quality of life and mental health burden in patients with CRD as compared to those presenting with first-episode superficial dermatophytic infection (SDI). METHODS: The study included patients aged over 18 years with CRD or with first-episode SDI. Quality of life was assessed using the Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI), mental health morbidity — using the 12-item General Health Questionnaire (GHQ12) and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) defined as the HADS-A (anxiety) and the HADS-D (depression). RESULTS: A total of 166 patients were examined: 104 with CRD and 62 with first-episode SDI. CRD patients had significantly poorer quality of life, especially in the “extremely large score category” as compared with SDI. The DLQI domains of “symptoms and feelings” and “daily activities” were the worst affected (in all cases p 0.05). In multivariate logistic regression analysis, body surface area involvement and HADS-A emerged as significant predictors of CRD. CONCLUSION: CRD patients had greater deterioration in mental health (HADS-A) as compared to patients with first-episode superficial dermatophytosis.