A descriptive study of patterns of genital dermatoses in patients in south India and evaluation of their quality-of-life

Objectives The objective of this study was to describe various venereal dermatoses (VD) and non-venereal dermatoses (NVD) of external genitalia and evaluate the quality of life (QOL) in patients with various genital dermatoses. Materials and Methods In this cross-sectional study, patients with genital dermatoses attending a tertiary care center in South India over a period of 2 years were evaluated. Demographics and clinical features were recorded. QOL was assessed using the dermatology life quality index (DLQI) questionnaire. Results Among the 100 patients with genital dermatoses, 63% of patients had NVD, and 37% had VD. The mean DLQI score in the study was 5.8 ± 4.437. About 33% of patients had a small effect on QOL due to genital dermatoses. Furthermore, 61.9% and 59.4% of patients with non-venereal and VD, respectively, had small and moderate effects on QOL due to their disease. The DLQI scores showed a tendency to worsen with advancing education status and also in patients with coexisting skin lesions. Limitations Patients below 18 years of age with genital dermatoses were excluded from the study. Further, as this study was conducted during the COVID outbreak, the sample size was small, which may have led to the exclusion of rarer dermatoses affecting the external genitalia. Conclusion Overall, patients had a small effect on QOL due to genital dermatoses. Worsening in QOL was associated with advancing education status and with the presence of co-existing skin diseases. There is a dearth of studies assessing QOL in patients with genital dermatoses in South India. Such studies addressing the psychosocial morbidity associated with these disorders may be pertinent in designing a holistic management plan while treating these disorders.