Health-related Quality of Life in Children and Adolescents with Psoriasis: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

Abstract

Studies demonstrating the negative impact of paediatric psoriasis on health-related quality of life (HRQOL) are accumulating, but little is known about moderators of HRQOL. The objectives of this review were to summarize studies on HRQOL in paediatric psoriasis and to explore the potential moderating influences of demographic and clinical variables. Searches were conducted by 2 independent researchers in PubMed, Embase, CINAHL, PsycINFO, and Scopus for papers published between 1995 (the date the first dermatology-specific HRQOL-instrument for children was introduced) and 2016. Eligible studies were required to report HRQOL data for children and/or adolescents with psoriasis (4?18 years) using validated HRQOL questionnaires. Seven?teen eligible studies (number of patients=1,185) were identified. Moderation analyses revealed that study samples with a higher percentage of girls were associated with better HRQOL (β=0.19), while a higher mean age of onset (β=0.83) and study quality (β=0.28) were associated with lower HRQOL (all p<0.05). Several papers did not provide the information necessary for exploring between-study differences, thus the moderation analysis results should be interpreted with caution. In conclusion, children and adolescents with psoriasis experience moderate impairment of HRQOL. Certain demographic characteristics (e.g. sex) and clinical characteristics (e.g. age at onset) appear to moderate this impact.