Year: 2026
Type: article
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: BACKGROUND: Hidradenitis suppurativa (HS) is a chronic inflammatory skin disease that severely impacts patients' quality of life (QoL). Instruments commonly used to evaluate QoL in people with dermatological conditions, such as the Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI), may not capture the full impact of HS-specific symptoms. The Hidradenitis Suppurativa Quality of Life instrument (HiSQOL) is a validated, HS-specific tool recommended for clinical trials and practice. OBJECTIVES: To describe baseline QoL, measured by the HiSQOL, in a large cohort of people with HS in Spain; and to identify factors associated with QoL impairment. METHODS: We collected baseline data (demographics, clinical characteristics and HiSQOL scores) from the Spanish Hidradenitis Suppurativa Registry (REHS). All data were recorded between June 2023 and September 2025. We analysed associations between severe/very severe QoL impairment (HiSQOL total score 22-68) and various factors. RESULTS: We included 1188 participants (53.4% female) with a mean age of 37.7 years. The mean total HiSQOL score was 24.4 (standard deviation [SD] 17.0), indicating very severe impairment. Notably, 39.1% of participants with clinically mild disease (Hurley stage I) reported very severe QoL impairment. Factors significantly associated with worse QoL included female sex, smoking, anxiety, depression, specific lesion locations, greater disease severity, greater pain, inflammatory and mixed phenotypes, and a greater number of inflammatory lesions. CONCLUSIONS: This large, real-world study confirms the substantial negative impact of HS on QoL, including in people traditionally classified as having mild disease. Our findings highlight the importance of incorporating patient-reported outcomes such as HiSQOL into comprehensive disease assessment and management.
DOI: 10.1111/jdv.70663
Authors: José C. Pascual, Juan Garcias‐Ladaria, Juli Bassas‐Vila, Eva Vilarrasa, Lucía Carnero, Emili Masferrer, Arantxa Muñiz, Raquel Rivera, Laura Salgado‐Boquete, Rafael Botella‐Estrada, Alejandro Molina‐Leyva, Gemma Martin‐Ezquerra, Marta Mendieta‐Eckert, Patricia Garbayo‐Salmons, Enrique Herrera‐Acosta, Antonio Martorell, Nuria No, Rafael S. Aguayo‐Ortiz, Isabel Rodríguez‐Blanco, Laura M. Pericet‐Fernández, Héctor Perandones‐González, Irene Fuertes, Yolanda Delgado, Inés Gracia‐Darder, Verónica Mora‐Fernandez, José M. de Castro‐Garrido, Oriol Corral, Marta Ruano, Jorge Arroyo‐Andrés, Marcos Oro‐Ayude, Nalia Domínguez, Ignacio Garcia‐Doval, Mercè Grau‐Pérez
Institutions: Hospital General Universitario de Alicante Doctor Balmis, Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria y Biomédica de Alicante (ISABIAL), Hospital Universitario Son Espases, Hospital Universitari Germans Trias i Pujol, Hospital de Sant Pau, Hospital Universitario Araba, University Hospital Mútua de Terrassa, Mútua Terrassa, Hospital Universitario de Torrejón, Hospital Universitario 12 De Octubre, Complejo Hospitalario de Pontevedra, Hospital Universitari i Politècnic La Fe, Hospital Universitario Virgen de las Nieves, Hospital Del Mar, Hospital de Cruces, Corporació Sanitària Parc Taulí, Hospital Clínico Universitario Virgen de la Victoria, Hospital de Manises, University Hospital Complex Of Vigo, Hospital Universitari Arnau de Vilanova, Complejo Hospitalario Universitario de Santiago, Hospital Universitario Príncipe de Asturias, Complejo Asistencial Universitario de León, Hospital Clínic de Barcelona, Hospital Universitario de La Princesa, Spanish Academy of Dermatology and Venereology, Hospital Universitario Puerta de Hierro Majadahonda
Language: English
Subfield: Dermatology
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: bronze
Funder: UCB Pharma
OpenAlex ID: W7203860282