Chronic Urticaria and Quality of Life

Introduction: Chronic spontaneous urticaria is a common inflammatory dermatosis which is defined by the presence of mobile, fleeting and pruritic papular erythematous skin lesions disappearing in less than 24 hours without leaving a scar and which lasts more than 6 weeks. The objective of our study is to investigate the impact of urticaria on patients' quality of life and to determine whether there is a relationship between quality of life and disease severity. Materials and methods: Cross-sectional study recruiting patients consulting for urticaria at the dermatology department at Chu Hassan II between the period from May 2021 to May 2023. 2 questionnaires on the quality of life of chronic urticaria (CU-Q2oL) and DLQI in Arabic version validated by Samah Tawil et al were used. The CU-Q2oL composed of 23 items. DLQI composed of 10 items. Each item was scored from 1 to 5 (score 5 = most affected, score 1 = unaffected). Results: We collected 120 patients, whose average age is 40 years, with a female predominance and a sex ratio of 2F/M. The averages of the domains, the items and the frequency of occurrence of an item were established. The highest mean scores were in the symptom domains, followed by sleep disturbance, living activities, appearance, and boundaries. The highest mean item scores were for pruritus and wheals followed by sleep disturbances, mood changes, nervousness, discomfort, fatigue, loss of concentration, reduction in work and social relationships. Conclusion: Chronic urticaria could have a negative impact on the quality of life of Moroccan patients. Therefore, it is important to recognize the effects that chronic urticaria can have on quality of life and to take this into account during management as well as when evaluating response to treatment.