Health status and perceived stress in patients with psoriasis and normal individuals in Shahrekord: A case-control study

The aim of this study was to compare the health status and perceived stress in patients with psoriasis and healthy individuals in Shahrekord, Iran. In this case-control study, 45 patients with psoriasis and 45 healthy individuals were recruited through convenient sampling. Healthy individuals and patients were matched according to their sex, age and education levels. The instruments of research were SF-36 and perceived stress questionnaires. This study showed that the mean perceived stress in psoriasis patients (27.0±4.6) was higher than healthy individuals (20.5±12.2) (P=0.001). Mean score of health status in patients was 44.9±7.9 less than its average in normal healthy subjects (62.1±7.5) (P=0.001). Psychological stress may play a role in the exacerbation of psoriasis because of visibility of psoriatic lesions. It is associated with deep effects on the health status of the patients.