Background: Cosmetic concerns can negatively affect a person’s psychological well being. There is paucity of literature about psychological morbidity in Indian dermatological patients especially those with cosmetic concerns

Methods: This cross-sectional study with consecutive sampling (n=299) was done in the Department of Dermatology at an Indian hospital to find out the prevalence of psychological disorders in patients with cosmetic concerns. Patients were evaluated on validated performas namely 9 item Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) and 7 –item Generalized Anxiety Disorder Questionnaire (GAD-7), used commonly to assess the presence of psychiatric symptoms in patients.

Results: The patients age ranged between 16-67 years with mean age of 25.76 ± 16.6 years (mean ± 2S.D). More than half of the participants were females (63.5) %. Majority of patients (90.3 %) belonged to urban areas. The commonest diagnosis were pigmentary disorders(25.8 %) including melasma, tanning, ephelids, post inflammatory hyperpigmentation followed by acne ( 23.4) % and scars (11.7%). Prevalence rates of depression and anxiety were 38.5% and 40.1 % respectively. Female patients and office goers were more likely to suffer from anxiety and depression, respectively.

Conclusions: Emotional and psychological assessment is important in dermatology patients with cosmetic concerns. Psychiatric illnesses often go unaddressed in dermatological patients. This lacuna should be taken care of by implementing specific training programmes for dermatologists and developing rational consultation-liaison services with mental health services.

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Manmeet Singh

Department of Psychiatry, Acharya Shri Chander College of Medical Sciences, Jammu (J&K)

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