Relationship between dermatological quality of life, disease activity, depression, and anxiety levels in Behçet’s syndrome: a structural equation modelling approach

This descriptive and cross-sectional study was conducted with 263 individuals diagnosed with Behçet's disease to determine the effect of dermatological quality of life, psychological status and disease activity in Behçet's syndrome. The data of the study were collected from the online platform for patients with Behçet's disease using the sociodemographic data form, Behçet's Disease Symptom Activity Score (BSAS), Hospital Anxiety Depression Scale (HADS) and Dermatological Quality of Life Scale (DLQI). According to the results of structural model path analyses, BSAS positively affects DLQI by 24% and has a very low (1%) positive effect on HADS-D, while HADS-A shows a positive effect by 31%. Furthermore, a high correlation of 68% was found between HADS-A and HADS-D. BSAS, HADS-A and HADS-D variables explained 16.2% of the total change in DLQI level. BS is recommended to evaluate dermatological quality of life, anxiety and depression as well as disease activity in patients with Behçet's disease.