General Health Status of Patients with Pemphigus Vulgaris

Abstract

Background: Pemphigus vulgaris is a severe autoimmune disease that involves skin and mucosal membranes by blistering lesions of varying sizes. Pemphigus is often associated with psychological stress. Objectives: This study aimed to show the status of general health in patients suffering from this disease. Methods: A descriptive study was conducted on 35 new cases of pemphigus vulgaris that were referred to the tertiary level hospital from March 2017 to March 2018. Personal and clinical data were gathered by interviewing. Assessment of severity of the disease was done by the Ikeda index, and GHQ-28 questionnaires were used to measure their general health status. Results: A total of 35 new cases of non-treated pemphigus vulgaris (16 females and 19 males; mean age of 48.3 years, range 25 - 84 years) participated in this study. Median severity score of pemphigus was 4.1. Moreover, GHQ-28 positivity was detected in 65.7%o the patients. Social dysfunction and anxiety/insomnia had higher scores in subscales. There was a reverse relationship between disease severity and GHQ-28 values (P < 0.05). Conclusions: Pemphigus may negatively affect the general health of patients, and this issue should be considered in the treatment of this disease.