Health-related quality of life impact of scabies in the Solomon Islands

Susanna J Lake; Daniel Engelman; Oliver Sokana; Titus Nasi; Dickson Boara; Michael Marks; Margot J Whitfeld; Lucia Romani; John M Kaldor; Andrew C Steer; Natalie Carvalho

doi:10.1093/trstmh/trab096

Health-related quality of life impact of scabies in the Solomon Islands

Trans R Soc Trop Med Hyg. 2022 Feb 1;116(2):148-156. doi: 10.1093/trstmh/trab096.

Authors

Susanna J Lake^{1

2

3}, Daniel Engelman^{1

2

3}, Oliver Sokana⁴, Titus Nasi⁴, Dickson Boara⁴, Michael Marks^{5

6}, Margot J Whitfeld⁷, Lucia Romani⁸, John M Kaldor⁸, Andrew C Steer^{1

2

3}, Natalie Carvalho⁹

Affiliations

¹ Tropical Diseases Research Group, Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
² Department of Paediatrics, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
³ Melbourne Children's Global Health, Royal Children's Hospital, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
⁴ Ministry of Health and Medical Services, Solomon Islands.
⁵ London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, UK.
⁶ Hospital for Tropical Diseases, London, UK.
⁷ St Vincent's Hospital, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
⁸ Kirby Institute, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
⁹ Melbourne School of Population and Global Health, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.

Abstract

Background: Scabies causes intense itching and skin lesions. A small number of studies have shown that scabies impacts health-related quality of life (HRQoL), but no studies have been conducted in the Pacific region. We assessed the impact of scabies on HRQoL in a high-prevalence setting using the Children's Dermatology Life Quality Index (CDLQI) and Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI). We also assessed the validity of these tools in a Pacific Island population.

Methods: The study was conducted in the Solomon Islands. Participants with and without skin disease were randomly selected. HRQoL indices were scored on a scale of 0-30.

Results: We surveyed 1051 adults (91 with scabies) and 604 children (103 with scabies). Scabies had a small impact on HRQoL, with a median DLQI score of 2 (interquartile range [IQR] 0-6) and a CDLQI score of 2 (IQR 0-4). Scores increased linearly with severity. The greatest impact on QoL was due to itch, sleep disturbance and impacts on education and employment.

Conclusions: Scabies has a small but measurable impact on HRQoL. The DLQI and CDLQI scores were discriminated between the skin-related QoL of patients with scabies and the control group, indicating that these tools are appropriate to measure skin-related QoL in the Solomon Islands.

Keywords: Quality of life; Scabies; Solomon Islands.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Adult
Child
Humans
Prevalence
Quality of Life
Scabies* / epidemiology
Severity of Illness Index
Skin Diseases*
Surveys and Questionnaires