Clinical symptoms and self-reported disease severity among patients with psoriasis – Implications for psoriasis management

BACKGROUND: Pain, itching, burning and irritation are common symptoms of psoriasis but have not been well characterized by overall psoriasis severity. METHODS: Using 2012 syndicated psoriasis patient survey data, 1050 subjects were classified into mild (n = 610) and moderate-to-severe (n = 440) psoriasis severity groups based on self-reporting. Demographics, comorbid medical conditions and patient-reported key symptoms (i.e. flare-up frequency, psoriasis-related pain, itching, burning, hurting, irritation) were compared between groups. Multiple regressions were employed to examine the impact of overall psoriasis severity on each key symptom, controlling for demographics and comorbidities. RESULTS: Mild patients were older; more than 20% in both groups had joint pain and depression. Over 35 and 68% of the moderate-to-severe patients reported severe pain between or during flare-ups, respectively, and over 79% reported frequent bothersome itching. Controlling for between-group differences, moderate-to-severe patients had worse pain, were more likely to have continual flare-ups (odds ratio = 3.0) and flare-ups more than once monthly (odds ratio = 3.0), and reported more bothersome symptoms than patients with mild disease (all p < 0.05). CONCLUSION: The presence and level of particular symptoms increase with self-reported disease severity in patients with psoriasis. Careful investigation of symptoms in tandem with clinical observation is important for effective psoriasis management.