[Clinical and therapeutic profile and quality of life of patients with seborrheic dermatitis].

BACKGROUND

The clinical characteristics of seborrheic dermatitis (SD), therapeutic strategies employed in current clinical practice and impact on the quality of life in the Spanish population are described.

METHODS

An epidemiological, multicenter, transversal study in patients older than 16 years with seborrheic dermatitis. We evaluated the intensity of symptoms (scale 0-4), and impact on the quality of life by the Skindex-29 questionnaire (scale 0-100).

RESULTS

Two thousand one hundred and fifty nine patients participated, the mean age was 43,6 years, 55 % were men and 42 % had a family history of seborrheic dermatitis. Diagnosis is usually carried out at a mean age of 33,7 years. The median number of outbreaks in the last year is three. The median duration of each outbreak is 14 days. The most involved areas are the face (88 %) and scalp (70 %). The mean intensities are as follows: scaling 1.9, erythema 1.89, pruritus 1.73, oily skin 1.52, and induration 0.87. Ninety-eight percent of patients report a trigger factor for outbreaks, namely stress/depression/fatigue (76 %) and seasonal variation (44 %). Acne is the most common concomitant disease (35 %). The most common treatments are topical steroids (60 %), imidazole antifungals (35 %) and hydratating/nutritive products (31 %). The mean Skindex-29 global score is 20.5.

CONCLUSIONS

The most common clinical profile of seborrheic dermatitis is a 40-year-old patient with facial/scalp involvement of mild to moderate intensity with a history of stress/depression/fatigue prior to the outbreak. The most common treatments in the daily clinical practice are topical steroids and imidazole antifungals. The impact of seborrheic dermatitis in the quality of life is low.