Impacts of skin disorders associated with facial discoloration on quality of life: Novel insights explaining discordance between life quality scores and willingness to pay.

Abstract

How diseases associated with skin discoloration affect the quality of life (QoL) has rarely been examined. In this study, we directly compared the QoL and willingness to pay (WTP) among patients with skin disorders associated with facial discoloration. A single-center, cross-sectional study consisting of patients seeking treatment for facial discoloration was performed. All patients completed the dermatology life quality index (DLQI) and the short form 36 (SF-36) health survey questionnaires. Additionally, information regarding monthly income and the WTP for a complete cure of the affected condition was obtained. Patients with melasma (58), lentigo (56), postinflammatory hyperpigmentation (5), vitiligo (51), acne-induced erythema (10), and rosacea (31) were enrolled. Vitiligo, acne-induced erythema, and rosacea patients reported significantly worse QoL compared to lentigines or melasma patients as evaluated by DLQI. Using SF-36, rosacea patients were affected mentally the most as they reported the worst mental component scores, and the scores were significantly worse than that of melasma patients (rosacea vs. melisma=46.5 vs. 52.7, p=0.007). Vitiligo patients had the worst general health scores. Although there were no differences in the WTP among different diseases, the vitiligo group had the highest percentage of patients willing to pay more than 40% of their monthly income for a complete cure. The impact on QoL is different among skin diseases associated with facial discoloration. Only vitiligo patients reported worse general health as compared to the general population, explaining the discordance between life quality scores and WTP in these patients.