Abstract
Anogenital warts (GW) are among the most common sexually transmitted diseases. Few studies have investigated the quality of life (QoL) of GW patients. We undertook an exhaustive description of the health status of GW patients and assessed disease impact on QoL. GW patients enrolled at the Sexually Transmitted Diseases service of Rome Catholic University were administered the SF-36 questionnaire to assess health status, the Skindex-29 to evaluate the impact of dermatological aspects and the GHQ-12 questionnaire to identify patients with probable minor psychiatric non-psychotic conditions. Clinical severity was assessed with the Physician Global Assessment (PGA) and through quantitative measures. There was a significant association between greater disease severity and lower SF-36 values (reflecting a worse QoL). The severity parameters showed no significant differences in any of the Skindex-29 scales except for Emotions, which showed higher values (reflecting a worse QoL) in patients with severe disease assessed by PGA. The GHQ-positive patients (23.7%) consistently showed worse QoL scores on all the SF-36 scales and on all the Skindex-29 scales compared to GHQ-negative patients. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study of the impact of GW on QoL to use a range of validated tools, both generic and dermatology-specific. We observed a strong influence of GW on the mental and physical components of QoL in terms of general health status (SF-36). The effects in terms of specific dermatological aspects (Skindex-29) were less significant, but still reflected an impact on patients' emotional state.
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.