PSS36 - Utility and Resource Use of an Australian Population of Psoriasis Patients

Abstract

Psoriasis is a chronic, systemic immune-mediated disorder characterised by skin and often joint involvement affecting 2.3% of the Australian population. While psoriasis has traditionally been viewed as a non-serious skin condition, it is now recognised as a systemic inflammatory disease with a growing body of evidence linking the condition with a number of serious co-morbidities. The objective of this study was to determine the burden, in terms of disutility and resource use, that co-morbidities have on patients with psoriasis. A large-scale, multi-centre, cross-sectional study of Australian adults with psoriasis was conducted during 2011. The survey contained 43 questions and focused primarily on comorbidity, health care resource use and the impact of psoriasis on disutility as assessed by EQ-5D. A total of 330 patients responded to the survey. Three-quarters of respondents reported having at least two or more concomitant medical conditions, with only 8% reporting no comorbidities. Combined, joint-related conditions such as joint pain (46%) and psoriatic arthritis (28%) represented the largest proportion of medical comorbidities reported. The mean EQ-5D score for the cohort was 0.73. Utility decreased as the number of co-morbidities increased, ranging from 0.88 for patients with no co-morbidities to 0.36 for patients with 9 co-morbidities. Resource use and out of pocket expenses also increased with increasing number of co-morbidities. This study highlights the co-morbid nature of psoriasis with most respondents reporting having two or more concomitant conditions. Furthermore, based on the mean EQ-5D health status score, psoriasis has a considerable impact on patient quality of life comparable with other chronic diseases.