@article{29532,
  keywords = {Stigma (health related), Discrimination, Social Support, Depression, Psoriasis},
  author = {Łakuta P and Marcinkiewicz K and Bergler-Czop B and Brzezińska-Wcisło L},
  title = {How does stigma affect people with psoriasis?},
  abstract = {<div>
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<p>Introduction: Psoriasis is associated with a major additional psychological burden.<br />
Aim: To investigate whether the extent of skin involvement, stigmatization, and perceived social support are related to depressive symptoms in psoriasis patients.<br />
Material and methods: One hundred and forty-eight psoriasis patients completed in the BSA, the Beck Depression Inventory, Stigmatization Scale, and Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support.<br />
Results: Almost 13% of participants obtained a BDI total score indicating moderate depressive symptoms. The results of regression analysis revealed that greater depression severity in psoriasis patients is associated with higher levels of psoriasis-related stigma, lower perceived social support, female gender and a shorter duration of the disease, explaining 43% of the variance of depression. The stigmatization was the most powerful predictor of depressive symptoms for psoriasis patients and accounted for 33% of the variance.<br />
Conclusions: The extent of psoriasis does not directly lead to mood disturbance in these patients. Rather, social stig- ma accounted for this relationship. Strategies for reducing the stigma attached to patients with psoriasis are required.</p>
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  year = {2017},
  journal = {Advances in Dermatology and Allergology},
  pages = {36-41},
  doi = {10.5114/pdia.2016.62286},
  language = {eng},
}