Assessment of Quality of Life in Patients with Superficial Dermatophytosis: A Cross-sectional Study

Objective: Evaluate the quality of life of individuals with chronic (>3 months) dermatophyte infection. Materials and Methods: The study received approval from the Institute’s Ethics Committee. After obtaining written informed consent, consecutive individuals with superficial cutaneous dermatophytosis infection older than 18 years were invited to participate. 306 cases of tinea infection were enrolled. Based on the patient’s medical history and a physical examination of lesions, a diagnosis was made. In cases of dispute, a potassium hydroxide mount of lesion scrapings was used for microscopic evaluation. The following clinical parameters were recorded: disease duration (3 months, 3-6 months or >6 months), symptoms, family history, treatment history, clinical type and total Body Surface Area (BSA) involvement along with occupation and marital history. Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI) questionnaires were given to all the patients and the total score was calculated. Results: Among 306 patients, 149 were male and 157 females with the maximum number of patients having a combination of tinea corporis and cruris. Patients with increased BSA, increased duration of infection, family history of infection and past history of treatment significantly impaired quality of life. The mean DLQI + Standard Deviation (SD) of our study was 16.539 + 6.69377. The most impaired aspect of the DLQI questionnaire was due to skin symptoms and the other was embarrassment due to itching and cosmetic disfigurement. Gender and age had no correlation with the DLQI score. Conclusion: We found a very large effect on the Quality of Life of the patients and a greater impact with a longer duration of disease, multifocal distribution of the lesion leading to increased body surface area involvement and family history of tinea infection. However, there was no gender as well as age correlation with DLQI scoring. In conclusion, persistent and recurrent dermatomycosis causes patients tremendous social, emotional and financial distress. Thus, the study emphasizes the necessity of counseling in conjunction with effective dermatophytosis treatment.