Impact of COVID-19 on medical care conduct and psychological burden among patients with psoriasis: real-world data from a tertiary hospital in China

Abstract

Objective: The ongoing coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) epidemic has caused extensive damage worldwide. We explored whether the medical care conduct of patients with psoriasis has changed and whether the COVID-19 epidemic has placed more psychological pressure on these patients. Methods: A questionnaire survey was administered to patients with psoriasis in the Dermatology Department of Peking University Third Hospital in July 2022. Information about the patients’ general demographics, psoriasis condition, mental state of anxiety [Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7) score], changes in medical care conduct, and Concerns about COVID-19-Related Risk Score for Psoriasis (CCRSP, a self-designed questionnaire) was collected. Univariate analysis with the Mann–Whitney U test for continuous variables was used in the estimation of statistical differences. Results: A total of 112 patients with psoriasis completed the survey. Purchasing medicine was the factor that added difficulty for most participants (32.1%). Fewer participants (26.8%) encountered medical registration difficulties than economic and transportation difficulties. Nearly three-quarters of participants (73.2%) reported at least one medical care conduct change resulting from the COVID-19 epidemic. A small proportion of participants (12.5%) thought that COVID-19 prevented them from seeking medical services for psoriasis. The top three items that caused the most concern were psoriasis aggravation resulting from drug reduction and withdrawal because of COVID-19 (44.7%), psoriasis aggravation after infection with COVID-19 (38.4%), and psoriasis-related side effects of the COVID-19 vaccine (35.7%). The GAD-7 score of patients with a high CCRSP (score of >10) was significantly higher than that of patients with a low CCRSP (score of ≤10) (non-parametric test, P = 0.047). Conclusion: COVID-19 poses challenges and places a mental burden on patients with psoriasis. Doctors should regulate the medical behavior of patients with psoriasis according to their specific COVID-19 situation and help patients ease their anxiety to maintain the stability of their psoriasis condition.