Sexual life in patients with psoriasis

People with skin conditions are more likely to develop mental disorders (e.g. depression) than the general population. This correlation is especially notable among women [1, 2]. Almost half of people suffering from psoriasis feel sexually unattractive [3].
The aim of the study was to evaluate the functioning of the psoriasis population in Poland in terms of sexual life.
An anonymous proprietary questionnaire was completed online by 120 people, aged 18 to 57, diagnosed with psoriasis. Women accounted for 80% of the study participants. Almost all participants (92.5%) declared heterosexual orientation, 43% were married and 30% – were in informal relationships, in 50% of respondents the relationship lasted at least 5 years. 83% have had psoriasis for more than 5 years, and 13% have had psoriasis for 1 to 5 years. Respondents usually reported presence of lesions on the trunk and limbs (43%) and the scalp (12%). Psoriatic lesions in intimate places were present in 63%.
The results were subjected to statistical analysis, where the statistical significance of the correlation was tested with the Fisher test (p < 0.05 was considered significant) and their strength – with the Cramer V test. Confidence intervals were set at 95%. Calculations were performed in IBM SPSS Statistics 26. The results of selected statistical analyzes are summarized in table 1.
About half of respondents declared no sense of physical attractiveness (48%) and the feeling of "being worse than other people” (58%), without a statistically significant correlation with gender and location of psoriatic lesions. Nevertheless, the majority of respondents did not feel anxiety related to sexual intercourse (66%), were satisfied with their sexual life (66%) and did not limit their sexual activity since the first psoriasis lesions (69%). They did not hide their skin eruptions during intercourse (63%), nor did they cause them physical discomfort during intercourse (68%). Men significantly more often experienced a partner’s decreased interest in their person from the moment of the appearance of skin lesions. However, they did not report a noticeably reduced frequency of having intercourse from the moment of becoming ill.
The factor significantly affecting the sexual life of respondents was the location of psoriatic lesions in the intimate area (defined in the study as the genital area and buttocks). Respondents with changes in the above-mentioned places more often...


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