ندا ادیبی

The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between quality of life and acne disease.

In this study, a descriptive study method has used. There were 93 patients aged 15 to 50 years with acne skin disorder who included in the study by available sampling method. The GAGS rating scale was used for the severity of the disease. Also, The Skin Quality of Life Questionnaire (DLQI), was used to determine the quality of life of acne patients.

Quality of life was not normal among the acne severity groups, so the Kruskal-Wallis test was used to calculate the correlation, which stated that there is a significant correlation between these two variables (P<0.001).

Quality of life and acne vulgaris have a strong correlation. Considering the frequency of this disorder and its effect on the social and emotional performance of people, it is necessary to investigate more in order to prevent and treat this disorder

Acne is a very common psychosomatic disorder that causes physical, psychological and social effects in individuals. This study aims to answer this question: Can interpersonal emotion mediate the relationship between perceived stress and the severity of acne. Is the severity of acne directly related to the total scores of interpersonal excitement and does it support the relationship between acne and stress?

This is a descriptive predictive study method. 93 15-to-50-year-old patients with acne skin disorder were included in the study using convenience sampling method. the GAGS rating scale was used for the severity of the disease. Cohen Perceived Stress Questionnaire and Interpersonal Emotion Regulation Questionnaire were also used. Finally, the data were analyzed using regression and path analysis.

Perceived stress in patients with acne had an inverse effect on emotion regulation and the amount of its effect was -0.27 and significant (P <0.01). The amount of relationship between perceived stress and acne severity is 0.30, positive and significant (P<0.01). In addition to these findings, emotion regulation had an inverse effect on acne severity, the amount of relationship was -0.18 and was not significant (P<0.05).

Strategies for regulating maladaptive emotions in patients with acne vulgaris may be associated with higher psychological symptoms and lower beliefs about the effectiveness of treatment.due to the frequency of this disorder and its impact on social and emotional functioning of individuals, the need for further investigation to prevent and treat the disorder is also essential.

Type 2 diabetes is the most common type of diabetes, and a complex endocrine metabolic disorder that one of its main complications is diabetic foot ulcers. Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) are one of the key enzymes in the reconstruction of extracellular matrix which have proteolytic activity. The aim of this research is based on evaluating relationship between -1562 C>T allele at MMP-9 gene promoter with diabetic foot ulcer in type II diabetic patients. If such correlation proves, it can be used as a prognostic biomarker in patients with high-risk.
This is a case-control study. The single nucleotide polymorphism of -1562C>T allele of MMP9 gene promoter was genotyped by hit Tetra ARMS PCR technique in 100 diabetic patients with foot ulcer grade 1 or 2 as the case group according Wagner classification and in 100 diabetic patients without foot ulcer as the control group.
The Chi-square test revealed significant difference in genotype frequency of CC, CT and TT alleles of -1562C>T allele of MMP9 gene promoter between case and control groups (P=0.000).
According to this study, there is a relationship between -1562C>T allele of MMP9 gene promoter with diabetic foot ulcer in type2 diabetes patients. Thus we can introduce this biomarker for evaluation of risk and prognosis of diabetic foot ulcers.

Since, hair loss can be accompanied by worries about general appearance and can cause feeling of being bad looking and low self-esteem and although it can produce anxiety, it has effects on social functions. This study was designed to assess psychological and behavioral impacts of hair loss on patients. This cross-sectional study was performed on two groups of case and control (98 person in each group). Both groups were matched for age, marital status and education. Then, the two groups were given four self-administrate questionnaires, Hospital anxiety and depression scale (HADS), Rosenberg self-esteem scale, World health organization quality of life instrument (WHOQOL-BREF), and Body image disturbance questionnaire (BIDQ). Finally, the results were compared using independent t-test. There were no significant differences between the case and control groups in anxiety and depression, quality of life, and self-esteem. Nevertheless, there was significant difference between the two groups in body image disturbance (P < 0.001). Patients with hair loss clearly suffer from feeling of being bad looking and this can affect their social functions and their presence in community.

Alexithymia is a personality trait that demonstrates inability in emotional expression. This trait emerging from emotion disregulation has an effective role in etiology of psychosomatic illnesses. Psychosomatic patients, due to somatic illness and also difficulty in emotion regulation, experience anxiety and depression symptoms that exacerbate each other in a cycle with dermatologic illnesses.

In this post-hoc, cross-sectional and correlational study, Toronto Alexithymia Scale-20 (TAS-20) and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) were administered to all 215 patients who were referred to psychodermatology clinic of Isfahan University of Medical Sciences from autumn 2010 to autumn 2012. The final sample consisted of 140 patients. To analyze the data, we used SPSS software V.18.

The results showed that the frequency of high alexithymia, anxiety and depression in psychodermatologic patients were 41.8%, 51.2% & 40%, respectively. Assessing the relationship between alexithymia and its subscales with anxiety and depression showed that there were significant positive correlations between alexithymia and difficulty in identifying and describing feelings with anxiety and depression (p<0/001). The results of regression analyses of alexithymia on anxiety and depression showed that difficulty in identifying and describing feelings predicts depression and difficulty in identifying feelings predicts anxiety in patients.

 Alexithymia predicts anxiety and depression of psychodermatology patients and a complete treatment of these patients should be considered.

People، who can identify، understand and express their inner feelings well، cope with negative experiences and adapt with environment and other people successfully. Alexithymia is a personality trait characterized by difficulty in identifying، describing and regulating feelings. Patients with alexithymia، who cannot cope with stress، somatize their emotional disturbance in a variety of medical disorders، particularly dermatologic diseases.

In this prospective case-control study، 63 eligible subjects referring to dermatology clinics of Isfahan University of Medical sciences (Isfahan، Iran) were selected by convenience sampling method and implied case group. Control group was selected from normal population without any skin problem. The General health questionnaire (GHQ)، Toronto alexithymia scale (TAS-20) and Coping response index (CRI) were used to compare the variables between the groups.

Alexithymia had association with dermatologic diseases while CRI and GHQ scores showed no significant difference between the groups of case and control.

Present research suggests that in the treatment of dermatologic diseases، psychological problems should be considered. Dermatologist should be aware of alexithymia association with an underlying dermatologic disease.

High psychiatric disorders frequency، especially mood disorders، among patients with skin diseases has been proved. Skin diseases can reduce the self-esteem and more suicidal thought and commitment have been reported among these patients. The aim of this study was to evaluate the psychological profile of patients with skin diseases.

In this cross-sectional study، 250 patients with skin lesions aged from 16 to 60 years were submitted to survey by random convenience sampling. General health questionnaire-28 (GHQ-28) and Hospital anxiety depression scale (HADS) were used for measuring psychological profile. Data were analyzed using Mann-Whitney، chi-square، independent-t، Kruskal-Wallis and Spearman correlation tests.

Psychiatric disorders prevalence، based on GHQ-28، was 60%. Social function disorder، anxiety and insomnia، somatic symptoms and depression had the higher average rank and frequency، respectively. HADS screening showed 27. 6% of prevalence for psychological profile problems and 27. 87% for anxiety and depression subscales. Sex and age had no significant correlation to the psychological profile of patients. On the other hand، the marriage status and body location of skin lesions were statistically correlated to psychological profile.

This study confirms the correlation between impaired psychological profile and skin lesions. With regards to high amount of outpatient refer to dermatology clinics، psychological consideration of dermatologic outpatients for preventive and probable therapeutic measurements is recommended.

Acne vulgaris is one of the most common diseases of pilosebaceous unit characterized by papules and pustules on the face and trunk of young people. Different factors have been suggested to influence acne including diet, stress, changes in hormonal cycles, and some medications. In fact, the authors have recently received numerous complaints regarding the exacerbation of acne in patients who have undergone rhinoplasty surgery. Accordingly, we determined to compare the severity of acne before and after the surgery. This prospective analytical study was performed on 32 patients referred to plastic surgery clinics of Alzahra hospital during 2010-2011. Acne severity preoperatively and within one week, one month and four months after surgery was assessed using the acne severity index. The mean acne severity index before and one week, one month and four months after surgery were significantly different (P < 0.001). However, the severity one month after surgery was significantly higher than the other time-points (P < 0.05). Because rhinoplasty surgery is often performed to improve the appearance of people, the exacerbation of acne after this type of surgery affects patient satisfaction. Therefore, considering acne preventive measures before the surgery is recommended.

More than 10% of Iranian children are affected with atopic dermatitis. Symptoms of the disease like itching and eczema can lead to emotional and sleep disorders in children and impose a lot of stress on parents. It can also have great time and money burden for families. Hence implementing consultation programs for parents can improve the effectiveness of treatment. Similarly، recognizing the relations between psychological characteristics of sick children’s mothers and the severity of the disease can result in more efficient treatment and support. The disease severity of 82 children with atopic dermatitis was measured. The psychological characteristics of the children’s mothers were evaluated by 5 questionnaires including depression anxiety stress scale (DASS)، the Frost’s multidimensional perfectionism scale، the neuroticism، extraversion، openness five-factor inventory (NEO-FFI)، general health questionnaire، and the parenting styles scale. Pearson’s correlation was used to analyze the relations between variables. There were positive، significant relationships between severity of the child’s disease and the mother’s level of stress and perfectionism. Significant negative relationships were found between severity of the child’s disease and the mother’s level of extraversion، self-openness، and general health. Strong relationships between severity of atopic dermatitis in children and psychological characteristics of mothers necessitate simultaneous therapeutic interventions for both children and mothers.

Acne vulgaris is a disfiguring disease which can induce anxiety, depression, and other psychological problems particularly in young adults. Like any other serious physical disease, theses problems can disturb the quality of life among the affected patients. However, not paying enough attention to the psychological aspects of the disease while treating acne would lead to treatment failure and high noncompliance rates.Acne severity and psychological side effects are not necessarily related. Even mild acne can induce a major depressive situation or sever anxiety in patients with hypersensitivity to their general appearance.The following review focused on the psychosomatic aspects of acne as one of the most commonpsychodermatologic problems.