Impact of hand eczema severity on quality of life: a hospital based cross-sectional study

Abstract

Introduction: Hands are important organs of expression, communication, and are necessary for household and workrelated activity. Thus, hand eczema can deteriorate quality of life. This study aims to find impact of hand eczema severity on quality of life. Methods: A cross-sectional study was done in a tertiary care hospital in Punjab from January to July, 2014. A total of 69 hand eczema patients of either gender aged ≥16 years were enrolled after taking an informed consent. Disease severity was assessed by hand eczema severity index (HECSI) score; and quality of life by dermatology life quality index (DLQI) questionnaire. The data was evaluated using statistical tests like frequency, chi-square, oneway ANOVA, t-test etc. Results: Out of 69 patients, 63.8% were males and 36.2% females. The commonest age group affected was 21-40 years (55.1% cases). Aggravating factors were reported by 76.8% patients, the commonest trigger being summer season (47.8%) followed by soaps and detergents (21.7%). The mean±S.D. for DLQI was 6.22±5.42 and for HECSI was 18.54±17.05. There was no statistically significant impact of age, occupation and duration of disease on DLQI or disease severity except gender (p-value being 0.028 for DLQI; 0.035 for HECSI). There was no significant correlation between HECSI score and DLQI. Conclusion: Majority of the patients with hand eczema had a significant impairment of their quality of life. There was a statistically significant impact of gender on hand eczema severity; although no correlation was found between DLQI and HECSI score in this study.