Impact of Postinflammatory Hyperpigmentation on Quality of Life in patients of Skin of Color

Abstract

Abstract BACKGROUND Dyschromias are the second most diagnosed dermatological entity in patients of Skin-of-Color (SOC). People of SOC develop PIH with a higher frequency and severity attributable to the presence of reactive melanocytes. This can have severe repercussions on self-esteem and social/emotional functioning. While there are studies on impact of post-acne PIH on QOL, assessment of impact of PIH on Quality-of-life as a heterogenous group of dermatoses has not been studied previously. OBJECTIVES To assess the impact of PIH on QOL in patients of Skin-of-color using Skindex-16. MATERIALS AND METHODS This was a cross-sectional study involving 60 patients of SOC having biopsy-proven PIH from October 2019 to September 2021. Patients underwent thorough clinical workup, Skindex-16 was administered and data was analysed. RESULTS The mean age was 32.53 ± 11.73 years. 35(58%) patients were male, against 25(42%) females. Most patients reported with PIH secondary to Papulosquamous disorders (n = 23;38.34%), followed by Acne/Acneiform eruptions (n = 11;18.33%). Mean scores for symptoms, emotions, functioning, and total scores were 0.37 ± 0.51, 2.30 ± 1.13, 2.26 ± 1.40 and 1.64 ± 0.85 respectively. PIH lesions with simultaneous evolution were associated with higher symptoms subscale scores. Tendency of PIH, involvement of exposed sites, higher intensity of PIH, epidermal PIH and lesions accentuating on Wood’s lamp had higher, statistically significant impact on emotions, functioning, and total scores. Our study was limited by the sample size and larger, multicentric, population-based studies are recommended.