Measuring quality of life in people referred for specialist care of acne: comparing generic and disease-specific measures.

OBJECTIVE

Our purpose was to compare 3 approaches to the measurement of quality of life in patients referred for specialist care of acne.

METHODS

A questionnaire was sent to 130 patients referred for management of their acne. Follow-up questionnaires were sent 4 and 12 months after treatment began. The questionnaire contained a generic index measure (EuroQol EQ-5D), a generic profile measure (Short Form 36), and a disease-specific measure (Dermatology Life Quality Index). Pretreatment results for the EQ-5D were compared with normative data. The responsiveness of the EQ-5D was compared with that of the other measures.

RESULTS

Before treatment, the sample reported substantially more pain/discomfort and anxiety/depression on the EQ-5D compared with a population sample. The disease-specific measure was more responsive to change compared with both generic measures.

CONCLUSION

Our study highlights the importance of combining information from generic measures with information from instruments designed specifically for use in people with skin disease.