Astudy looking at patients' assessment of the severity of their skin disease and that of an objective assessment found only a modest link between the two.The patient's view of severity was found to be a better predictor of psychological morbidity than the objective measure.
Researchers from the University of Newcastle had collected patient self-assessment and clinician-led objective assessments of 108 patients with acne, psoriasis or atopic eczema.
They concluded that clinicians should consider the psychological impact of skin diseases not just in those with objectively more skin disease, but across many levels of severity.
Magin PJ, Pond CD, Smith WT et al. 2011
