We normally think of itchiness as merely annoying, but a study that has just been published in the Journal Investigative Dermatology now suggests that psoriasis may also have psychological consequences.
Researchers obtained information on 3,530 patients with skin diseases. They compared it to 1,094 healthy people.
All subjects were given questionnaires to complete to assess their levels of depression, anxiety, suicidal thoughts, and levels of stress via negative life events and economic difficulties.
They were also examined to confirm the presence or absence of a skin disease and were asked about the presence of itchiness, its intensity, and its frequency.
The findings were shocking…
90 percent of people with prurigo complained of itchiness, 86 percent of those with atopic dermatitis, 82 percent of those with hand eczema, 78 percent of those with other types of eczema, 76 percent of those with urticarial, and 70 percent of those of psoriasis.
14 percent of patients with itch reported depression compared to 5.7 percent of patients without itch, six percent of healthy people with itch, and three percent of healthy people without itch.
This definitely suggests that it is not only itchiness, but the specific type of itchiness that accompanies skin diseases that makes sufferers feel depressed.
Even more concerning is 15.7 percent of patients with itch even reported having suicidal thoughts.
When they crunched the numbers further, they found that patients with skin diseases were 53 percent more likely than the other participants were to have depression, 27 percent more likely to have suicidal thoughts, and 24 percent more likely to experience economic difficulties.
But why?
One possible reason is that the bodies of people with itchy skin diseases produce more neurotransmitters and neuropeptides like serotonin that are also involved in depression.
Whichever way, if you suffer from itchy psoriasis and struggle with depression and suicidal thoughts, you are not alone. It is also essential that if you do experience severe depression or thoughts, you seek medical help immediately.