Szepietowski, J. C.

The patient is the centre of a web of relationships, and the impact of his/her disease on family members and caregivers must be taken into account. The aim of this study was to identify the specific instruments that measure the impact of a dermatological disease on the quality of life (QoL) of family members, by performing a systematic search of the literature. Fifteen papers were identified, describing the creation and validation of nine instruments.

Psoriasis is a chronic skin disease, that often develops below the age of 18. In an integrated approach to childhood psoriasis, the impact of psoriasis on family members merits consideration. In this study, the impact of childhood psoriasis on caregivers (61 mothers and 4 fathers) of 65 children (age range 5-17.5 years) was measured using Family Dermatology Life Quality Index (FDLQI). Childhood psoriasis exerted a substantial impact on the QoL of caregivers (mean FDLQI 13.62 +/- 6.15 points).