Effect of melasma on quality of life in a sample of women living in southern Brazil

• Published in: Journal of the European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology Vol. 22; no. 6; pp. 655 - 662
• Main Authors: Freitag, FM, Cestari, TF, Leopoldo, LR, Paludo, P, Boza, JC
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford, UK Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01-06-2008
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; Brazil - epidemiology; Cross-Sectional Studies; Female; Humans; hyperpigmentation; Melanosis - epidemiology; Melanosis - ethnology; Melanosis - psychology; melasma; Middle Aged; Prevalence; Quality of Life; questionnaire; scale; Surveys and Questionnaires; Brazil
• ISSN: 0926-9959; 1468-3083
• DOI: 10.1111/j.1468-3083.2007.02472.x

Background  Melasma can cause a significant effect on individual emotional well‐being. Melasma Quality of Life Scale (MELASQoL) is a specific questionnaire elaborated to assess the burden of melasma on patient's quality of life.
Objective  To evaluate the clinical aspects, severity and the influence of melasma on daily living of a sample of Brazilian women.
Methods  Cross‐sectional study that enrolled 85 women with melasma older than 15 years of age. Trained investigators asked 55 questions to collect epidemiological and clinical data. The disease severity was clinically assessed using Melasma Area and Severity Index (MASI). Patients answered the Portuguese version of 10‐item MELASQoL scale without coaching.
Results  The mean ± SD age was 41.1 ± 6.8 years, and the mean ± SD of MELASQoL score was 37.5 ± 15.2 (median, 35). Patients with previous psychiatric diagnosis had significantly higher MELASQoL scores (mean, 42.8; SD, 13.6) than patients without this antecedent (mean, 35.4; SD, 15.4; P < 0.05). Patients with less than 8 years of school attendance also had significantly higher MELASQoL score (mean, 44; SD, 16.9) than more graduated ones (mean, 34.4; SD, 13.5; P < 0.05). The mean ± SD MASI was 10.6 ± 6.6 (median, 10.2). There was no correlation between MASI and MELASQoL.
Conclusions  This study confirms that MELASQoL‐BP is easy to administer, adds important information about the impact of melasma on South American women's life and, finally, contributes to building evidence on the validity, reliability and cultural adaptation of the Portuguese language MELASQoL version.