Quality of life of family caregivers of children with psoriasis

Objectives: Psoriasis (PsO) is a chronic skin disease, with one-third of cases occurring during childhood. The impact of PsO is not limited to the child but also inevitably extends to the caregiver. The current study aimed to measure quality of life (QoL) of caregivers of children with PsO and its associated factors. Material and Methods: A cross-sectional descriptive study with an analytic component included 165 caregivers of children diagnosed with various types of PsO for at least 6 month’s duration. The severity of PsO was assessed with the Psoriasis Area and Severity Index (PASI) score, and caregivers’ QoL was assessed using the family dermatology life quality index (FDLQI). Mann-Whitney and Kruskal-Wallis tests were used to compare non-normally distributed data. Linear regression was applied to evaluate the contribution of factors found to be significantly correlated with the square root of QoL. Qualitative variables were included in the model as dummy variables. A p-value of ≤0.05 was regarded as statistically significant. Results: Both median and mean QoL scores among studied caregivers were 11 out of 30 (36.7% of total score). Median QoL scores were higher among caregivers with very low and low socioeconomic levels (p < 0.001), caregivers of preschool children (p = 0.04), children with previous hospitalization for PsO, pustular PsO, face, scalp, and genital involvement (p = 0.01, 0.003, 0.02, 0.03, and < 0.001, respectively). Moderate to severe PsO had a higher median QoL score compared to mild PsO (p < 0.001). Linear regression revealed that the independent predictors of impaired QoL among caregivers were socioeconomic status, genital involvement, and severity of PsO. Conclusion: Caregivers of children with PsO experienced a relatively impaired QoL. Many caregiver- and patient-related factors were associated with a low QoL score among caregivers.