Abstract
Background: Pemphigus and bullous pemphigoid (BP) are autoimmune blistering diseases (AIBDs) that affect the skin and mucous membranes, and adversely impact quality of life (QOL). Few studies have assessed the correlation between the severity of disease and QOL in patients with pemphigus and BP. Objectives: To identify the correlation between the severity of AIBDs and QOL using the Autoimmune Bullous Disease Quality of Life (ABQOL), Treatment Autoimmune Bullous Disease Quality of Life (TABQOL), and Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI) questionnaires in Chinese patients with pemphigus and BP at baseline, and after 1, 3 and 6 months of treatment. Methods: Pemphigus and BP patients were invited to complete the ABQOL, TABQOL, and DLQI questionnaires. We measured the pemphigus disease area index (PDAI), autoimmune bullous skin disorder intensity score (ABSIS), and antibodies of desmoglein1,desmoglein3 (DSG1/DSG3) for pemphigus; and the bullous pemphigoid disease area index (BPDAI), ABSIS, and antibodies of BP180/ BP230 for BP as disease severity indices. The correlations between the severity of disease and QOL were analyzed by Spearman’s correlation coefficient (r). Results: Eighty-five patients were included: 55 with pemphigus and 30 with BP. The pemphigus subtypes included pemphigus vulgaris (PV, n = 32), pemphigus foliaceus (PF, n = 22), and paraneoplastic pemphigus (PNP, n = 1). We found significantly strong correlations between QOL (ABQOL, TABQOL, DLQI) and severity of disease (PDAI/BPDAI, ABSIS) with (r = 0.87, 0.77, 0.83; r = 0.86, 0.73, 0.80) for pemphigus and BP, respectively. Mild or strong correlations were also observed between QOL and antibody titers in pemphigus with DSG1/DSG3(r=0.32/0.36) and BP with BP180/BP230( r = 0.73/0.17) respectively. Conclusion: The QOL of patients with pemphigus and BP decreased with increased severity of the AIBDs. As the disease severity descended, so the QOL improved. The QOL indices should be used in clinical trials and to manage patients’ treatment, especially during the active disease stage, despite the mild correlation observed after 1 month of treatment.The PDAI to be better at assessing disease severity than the ABSIS in patients with pemphigus, and ABSIS are better than BPDAI in BP patients for correlation with the QOL indices.
Clinical response of rituximab and improvement of quality of life in patients with bullous pemphigoid and mucous membrane pemphigoid
