Depression, anxiety, stress and life satisfaction in patients with chronic spontaneous urticaria

Abstract

Abstract Aim: Chronic spontaneous urticaria (CSU) is a skin disease with high rates of comorbid psychopathology. The aim of this study was to assess the relationship between CSU and anxiety, depression, stress and life satisfaction. Materials and Methods: A total of 204 participants were included in the study, 101 of them were CSU patients and 103 of them were in the healthy control group. Demographic and clinical characteristics were obtained by the questionnaire created by our research team. Depression anxiety stress scale (DASS) and satisfaction with life scale were used to assess psychological status and life satisfaction. Statistical analysis was performed by using SPSS version 17.0. Results: Stress and anxiety scores (15.88 ± 6.73 to 13.33 ± 6.05, p<0.05 and 10.06 ± 5.94 to 7.35 ± 5.,09, p<0.001) were significantly higher in CSU patients than control group. Stress (16.8 ± 6.9 to 13.3 ± 5.4), anxiety (11.1 ± 5.8 to 7.4 ± 5.4) and depression (10.9 ± 6, 3 to 7.0 ± 4.7) scores were significantly higher (p<0.05), life satisfaction (22.3 ± 6.2 to 24.9 ± 4.7) scores were significantly lower (p<0.05) in female patients with CSU. Unlike the control group, age and marital status did not make a significant difference on stress, anxiety, depression and life satisfaction in CSU patients. Conclusion: Dermatological treatment alone is not sufficient in CSU. Patients with CSU also need psychological interventions to cope with stress, anxiety and depression, and thus increase their life satisfaction.