engleski

Quality of life of children with chronic skin diseases and psychological problems of parents

Pediatric patients and their parents are particularly vulnerable to the burden of skin disease. Chronic disease in childhood may negatively affect development and overall quality of life (QoL). Interest in QoL measurement in pediatric patients with skin disease has grown in recent years and started with an increased recognition of the psychosocial burden experienced by young patients with disease and their families. The most common studies were conducted on atopic dermatitis, psoriasis, vitiligo and acne. Children with these most common skin diseases are more likely to experience depression, low self-esteem, and lack of sleep, bullying, poor social interactions, poor medical compliance and poorer health outcomes as adults and therefore a significant impairment of QoL. Among other impacts the burden of pediatric skin disease affects the family unit as a whole. In that context one must pay attention to the intense emotional and biological connection between children and their caregivers and the degree to which this relationship regulates and influences children’s behavior. The skin has an important role in this connection because it is through the skin that the child perceives its first sensations and begins to identify what is pleasurable or not. Thus, the presence of skin disease can have repercussions on the children-adult bond and the healthy development of a relationship.The literature also identifies the influence of the caregiver’s behavioral disturbances on the child’s illness, the evolution of the disease and even on the development of future adults. In studies on the QoL on these most common chronic skin diseases anxiety and depression occur most frequently among caregivers of pediatric patients. Exposure to negative experiences related to anxiety and depression in their main caregiver can have the effect of reducing their quality of life. In turn, psychosomatic mechanisms may be linked to the worsening of skin diseases reported in pediatric studies. It is important that dermatologists be aware of available QoL indices and to use them to recognize the specific emotional vulnerability within this group of pediatric patients and not to minimize the role of their parents and their impact in an overall treatment that contributes to their QoL and emotional development.

quality of life ; children ; chronic skin diseases ; psychological problems of parents

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