PSYCHO-CUTANEOUS DISORDERS: A COMPREHENSIVE ANALYSIS IN PSYCHIATRIC AND DERMATOLOGY PATIENTS

Abstract

To document the incidence and nature of cutaneous disorders in patients with diagnosed psychiatric condition. To compare it with the control group. To find out if any relationship exists between the two groups. The study included 103 patients diagnosed with psychiatric conditions who also presented with cutaneous diseases, constituting the study group. These patients were categorized according to the ICD-11 classification of psychocutaneous disorders. Additionally, a control group comprising 312 patients seeking care at the dermatology outpatient department due to various skin disorders, with no documented history of psychiatric conditions, was included in the study for comparative analysis. The majority of cases within the study group fell within the age range of the 2nd to the 4th decade. Among the study group patients, 54% exhibited infective dermatoses, while the remaining presented non-infective dermatoses. Notably, a high prevalence of 'dermatophyte' infections was observed among male patients, while 'infestations' were more frequent among female patients in the study group. Within the non-infective dermatoses category, 19% of patients were diagnosed with eczema, and primary psychocutaneous disorders were identified in 7% of the study group. In conclusion, the study group exhibited a significantly higher incidence of infestations, genodermatoses, and dermatophyte infections. Additionally, patients with polysubstance abuse had a heightened occurrence of non-infective dermatoses, notably eczema. The most prevalent psychogenic skin disorder in the study group was 'Trichotillomania,' followed by 'Delusion of parasitosis' and 'Dermatitis Artifact.'