Spanish version of the Actinic Keratosis Quality of Life questionnaire.

BACKGROUND: Patient-reported outcome measures are very important outcomes. For specific diseases, health-related quality of life-instruments (HRQoL) are increasingly used to provide data on patients' overall perceptions of the course of a given disease. Actinic keratoses (AKs) are common keratotic lesions that occur on chronically sunlight-exposed skin. Only few studies regarding HRQoL in AKs have been made. OBJECTIVE: In order to be able to compare HRQoL among different countries and cultures, we aimed to translate and validate the Actinic Keratosis Quality of Life (AKQoL) questionnaire into Spanish and quantify the impairment caused by AKs in Spanish patients. METHODS: The AKQoL was translated. Then, 15 patients with AKs were interviewed to ensure cultural adaption before it was tested in one hundred patients with AK lesions at the Melanoma Unit of Hospital Clinic in Barcelona. RESULTS: Validation showed high interitem correlations, as well as a high correlation of each item and the total score. Internal consistency (Cronbach's coefficient alpha) was also high at 0.91 and an alpha value of 0.90 at retest. The test-retest correlation was 0.96, and the intraclass coefficient was 0.98. CONCLUSION: The presented data support the AKQoL Spanish version as a valid and reliable HRQoL questionnaire for the description of AK-related QoL and may provide a method for comparison of AK specific QoL between different cultures and countries.

The association of metabolic syndrome and psoriasis: a population- and hospital-based cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND: Psoriasis (PS) has been suggested to be associated with the metabolic syndrome (MetS) in numerous studies with conflicting results. The vast majority of previous data were based on PS subjects from hospitals, and when based on data from the general population the PS subjects were often identified in insurance health databases. Furthermore, many studies used a single method approach, e.g. self-reported diagnosis. OBJECTIVE: We have therefore investigated a possible association between PS and MetS on PS subjects from the hospital as well as the general population using combined methods, i.e. self-reported diagnosis, physical examinations and blood samples. METHODS: A population- and hospital-based cross-sectional study of the possible association between PS and MetS. RESULTS: Thirty-six hospital PS subjects, 860 population PS subjects and 14,016 non-PS subjects were identified. The odds ratios (ORs) for hospital PS subjects and population PS subjects vs. population non-PS subjects, respectively, were 5.14 (2.47-10.69) and 1.29 (1.09-1.53) for MetS, 4.55 (1.91-10.85) and 1.16 (0.85-1.59) for diabetes, 1.92 (0.87-4.22) and 1.00 (0.86-1.17) for hypertension, 4.34 (1.86-10.10) and 1.15 (1.00-1.34) for hypertriglyceridaemia, 3.88 (1.96-7.69) and 1.19 (1.01-1.42) for hypoHDL, 5.77 (2.89-11.52) and 1.19 (1.00-1.41) for general obesity and 2.92 (1.45-5.88) and 1.34 (1.16-1.55) for abdominal obesity. Obesity acted as a possible confounder. A uniform pattern of higher ORs for hospital PS subjects when compared to population PS subjects was observed. The severity and duration of PS did not seem to affect the results. As this is a cross-sectional study we cannot demonstrate causality. CONCLUSION: The data suggested an association between PS and MetS as well as its individual parameters on a hospital-based level, with the exception of hypertension. On a population-based level the associations were only significant for MetS, hypoHDL and abdominal obesity.

Cancer incidence among patients with a hospital diagnosis of pruritus: a nationwide Danish cohort study.

BACKGROUND: Pruritus is a frequent complaint in patients with cancer. However, no large study has examined pruritus as a marker of undiagnosed cancer. OBJECTIVES: To examine the association between inpatient, outpatient and emergency hospital diagnoses of pruritus and subsequent cancer diagnoses. METHODS: In this nationwide Danish cohort study, we used medical databases to identify all patients (n = 12,813) with a diagnosis of pruritus during the period 1978-2011 and followed them until a first-time cancer diagnosis, emigration, death or 31 December 2011. We computed standardized incidence ratios (SIRs) for cancer as the observed to expected number of cancers based on national cancer incidence rates. We calculated the 1-year absolute risk of cancer, treating death as a competing risk. RESULTS: The overall SIR of cancer was 1.13 [95% confidence interval (CI) 1.07-1.20]: 1.22 (95% CI 1.13-1.33) among men and 1.05 (95% CI 0.97-1.14) among women. The SIR was 1.20 (95% CI 1.08-1.33) among patients with a previous diagnosis of dermatological disease and 1.10 (95% CI 1.02-1.18) among patients without such a diagnosis. Both haematological and various solid cancers were observed at increased rates. Overall, the highest SIRs were observed during the first 3 months of follow-up, declining rapidly thereafter. The 1-year absolute risk of a cancer diagnosis was 1.63% and 155 patients with pruritus would have needed to be examined to detect one excess cancer. CONCLUSIONS: Pruritus may be a marker of occult cancer. Further studies are needed to assess the prognostic benefit of screening for cancer in patients with pruritus.

Self-reported skin morbidities and health-related quality of life: a population-based nested case-control study.

BACKGROUND: Impaired dermatological health-related quality of life (HRQoL) has been observed in hospital-based studies, but little is known on a population-based level. OBJECTIVE: To investigate self-reported dermatological HRQoL in the general population. METHODS: Hidradenitis suppurativa, psoriasis, pimples, hand rash or atopic eczema were identified using questionnaires in a 15,177 person population sample. A nested case-control study of 180 cases and 259 controls was made using the Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI), Skindex-29 and EQ-5D. RESULTS: Cases had higher scores in DLQI and Skindex-29 and a lower score in EQ-5D, suggesting lower HRQoL. Adjusting for age and sex, the differences in Skindex-29 and DLQI were significant (p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Persons with self-reported skin morbidity had lower HRQoL than the general population. The impairment is not as significant as in studies of hospital-based cases, but considering the high prevalence of skin diseases it may still represent a significant burden of disease on society in aggregate.

The prevalence of inverse recurrent suppuration: a population-based study of possible hidradenitis suppurativa.

BACKGROUND: Hidradenitis suppurativa (HS) is a chronic inflammatory disease involving inverse recurrent suppuration (IRS). The epidemiology of the disease is not well described, with previous studies reporting prevalence estimates from 0·00033% to 4%. OBJECTIVE: To determine the prevalence of IRS in a large population-based survey. METHODS: Data were obtained from a general cross-sectional population study in Denmark. A validated self-administered questionnaire was used to identify IRS. Persons with the combination of outbreaks of 'boils' during the last 6 months in predefined areas and a minimum of two boils were identified. RESULTS: A total of 16 404 adults aged 30-89 years provided data and the overall prevalence of IRS was found to be 2·10% [95% confidence interval (CI) 1·88-2·32]; in men it was 1·58% (95% CI 1·29-1·86) and in women 2·56% (95% CI 2·21-2·86). No data for adults aged 20-29 years were included. The prevalence declined with age. The majority of cases (72·9%) had a body mass index of ≥ 25 kg m(-2) and 77·7% were current or ex-smokers. The mean number of inflamed lesions was 6·5 (range 2-67) during the last 6 months. The lesions affected mostly the genitalia (43·4%) and groin (39·8%) for women and 'other places' (not specified) (78·8%) for men. CONCLUSIONS: Data on IRS suggest that HS may be more prevalent than previously suggested, and the prevalence may be comparable to other major dermatoses, e.g. psoriasis. However, as no physician examination was done, the risk of recall and information bias is a major limitation.

Assessing the influence of actinic keratosis on patients' quality of life: the AKQoL questionnaire.

BACKGROUND: Limited knowledge is available regarding quality of life in patients with actinic keratosis (AK). OBJECTIVES: To develop and validate a disease-specific questionnaire - the Actinic Keratosis Quality of Life questionnaire (AKQoL) - to assess the quality of life of patients with AK. METHODS: Based on an extensive literature search and patient interviews, the AKQoL was developed in a stepwise approach. An initial mega-questionnaire was composed and subsequently shortened based on statistical differences between patients and controls. A test-retest was done to establish the reliability and to refine the items further. Rasch analyses were performed on the final questionnaire. RESULTS: Initially, 175 items were tested in a mega-questionnaire. The questionnaires were sent out twice and statistical analyses were made, reducing the number of questions to 18 and 10, respectively. Subsequent inter-item correlations showed that one item had only a weak correlation to the rest of the scale. This was confirmed by the Rasch model and by internal consistency as evaluated by Cronbach's coefficient alpha. Only one item was found to provide a small sex difference. A Bland-Altman plot showed excellent reliability. Items are scored on a standard 4-point Likert scale and summarized in a total score of maximum 27 points. A higher score indicates greater quality of life impairment. CONCLUSIONS: A nine-item questionnaire for patients with AK was developed. The AKQoL has three domains covering emotions, function and control and one single global item. The questionnaire's scale structure, the content and face validity, and the reliability have been established.

The burden of headache in a patient population from a specialized headache centre.

The aim was to characterize the individual and socio-economic impact of headache in a patient population from The Danish Headache Centre. This was a cross-sectional study using a structured interview, prospective headache diaries and standardized self-administered questionnaires using the ICHD-II criteria. Fifty-five subjects (12 male and 43 female) with a median age of 41 years and a median headache frequency of 15 days/month participated. Very high utilization of the healthcare system and a high absence rate due to headache of 12 days/year were reported. Eighty-one percent experienced a marked decrease in work effectiveness. Overall, 91% felt hampered by their headache on a daily basis and 98% had had expenses for headache medication. Frequent headache disorders are highly costly, especially due to indirect costs. Prevention, early intervention or effective treatment strategies for headache disorders may therefore be highly cost effective, not only for the individual but also for society.