Abstract
Quality of life (QoL) is significantly affected in patients with dermatomyositis (DM), with physical and emotional symptoms having a negative impact on a patient’s QoL. Several skin disease-specific and global medical measurement tools are available, but few studies have assessed QoL in DM patients. In this article, we review skin disease-specific tools and instruments used in QoL assessments in cutaneous diseases and DM patients, in addition to reviewing two global QoL assessment tools that are frequently used in skin disease patients. A search of the literature yielded two studies that measured QoL in DM. One studied the effect of cutaneous symptoms on QoL in DM, and the second studied the impact of both systemic and cutaneous symptoms on QoL in DM. We searched Medline for studies related to QoL in all disease subsets of DM from the period of 1990 to 2010. In addition, reference lists of articles and conference proceedings from international dermatology and rheumatology meetings were reviewed. The tools we identified to be of interest were reviewed for applicability, consistency, development processes, reliability and validity where possible. Here, we review four skin disease-specific tools and two global QoL measurement tools. This article highlights the importance of using both skin disease-specific and global QoL measurement tools in assessing QoL in DM patients. Cooperative studies between rheumatologists and dermatologists would provide a comprehensive view of QoL in DM.
In memoriam
This article is dedicated to the late Dr Marie-France Demierre, may she rest in peace.
Financial & competing interests disclosure
This study was supported in part by the National Institutes of Health (NIH K24-AR 02207) to VPW and with a grant from the Kuwaiti Government (SA). The authors have no other relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript apart from those disclosed.
No writing assistance was utilized in the production of this manuscript.