Patients’ Knowledge about Psoriasis and Comorbidities; Their Participation in Treatment Decisions

BACKGROUND:Psoriasis is a common chronic inflammatory disease. Having more information about psoriasis and comorbid diseases means that patients have more involvement in treatment.AIM:Evaluate the knowledge levels of psoriasis patients about the disease and comorbidities and also to determine participation in treatment decisions.METHODS:Totally 103 patients over the age of 18 with diagnosed psoriasis were included into the study. A questionnaire including items on knowledge about disease and treatment options, comorbid diseases were filled out by the patients. Total knowledge score (TKS) was found by giving 1 point to the questions that the patients knew correctly.RESULTS:Patients were well informed about their risk of depression (64.1%), but were less well informed about their risk of atherothrombotic disease (14.6%). About 50.4% of the patients thought that psoriasis may be due to an internal organ disease. There was a negative correlation between the patient's age, the age of diagnosis and TKS. About 42.7% wanted to leave the decision entirely to the physician.CONCLUSION:The results of this study showed that majority of patients with psoriasis are not aware of the increased risk of comorbid diseases and do not have enough knowledge about psoriasis.