Page 68 - JCBP-1-2

Journal of Clinical and
Basic Psychosomatics Prevalence of skin disorders in patients with schizophrenia

Table 1. Sociodemographic and clinical profile of the study population
Sociodemographic and clinical variables Male (n=66) Female (n=36) P
Mean age in years (SD) 39.30 (12.12) 39.63 (10.60) 0.88*
Mean years of education (SD) 10.34 (3.79) 10.08 (5.22) 0.76*
Mean duration of schizophrenia in months (SD) 142.53 (108.79) 119.02 (92.67) 0.27*
Mean BMI (SD) 25.10 (4.57) 26.02 (5.34) 0.36*
Mean waist circumference in cm (SD) 93.87 (10.76) 94.67 (15.10) -
No. of participants with hypertension (%) 19 (28.78) 9 (25) 0.68*
Notes: Statistically significant if P<0.05 for *Independent samples t-test.

Table 2. Most common diagnoses (>1 mention) with greater alacrity, and the modest sample size. However,
most participants did not volunteer any skin complaints,
Diagnosis n and the findings are a product of careful dermatological
Melasma 9 examination.
Acne vulgaris 9 The sociodemographic information and clinical
Cherry angioma 8 profile of the study group were fairly representative of the
Melanocytic nevi 8 population of treatment-seeking, community-living, and
Onychomycosis 6 stable patients with schizophrenia visiting the outpatient
Freckles 6 clinic of the Department of Psychiatry. Furthermore,
Acanthosis nigricans 4 the prevalence of hypertension, obesity, and abdominal
Rosacea 3 obesity in the present study is consistent with previous
[16]
Tinea cruris 3 reports from this center .
Polymorphous light eruption 3 Our study reveals a high prevalence of skin disorders
Beau’s lines 3 in patients with schizophrenia, similar to, although slightly
[12]
Folliculitis 3 lower than, the findings of a study conducted in Taiwan .
Melanonychia 3 The prevalence of skin disorders in this population is
higher than that observed in the general population in
Post varicella scarring 3 rural India but lower than the prevalence reported in
[17]
Xerosis 3
clinic-based studies of patient populations, such as those
Androgenic alopecia 2 with diabetes . As pointed out earlier, there is a paucity
[18]
Dermatitis passivata 2 of systematic studies with regard to skin disorders in
Tinea corporis 2 patients with schizophrenia, making direct comparisons
[19]
Post inflammatory hyperpigmentation 2 challenging .
Lichen simplex 2 Our findings reveal several notable observations.
Seborrheic keratosis 2 The most common group of disorders observed in our
Psoriasis 2 study was photo-aggravated dermatoses (29.41%). While
photosensitivity has been recognized as a side-effect of
typical antipsychotics, there is increasing recognition of
4. Discussion its frequency with the use of newer atypical antipsychotics
[20]
Schizophrenia is known to be associated with a high as well . Interestingly, the study conducted in Taiwan did
degree of comorbidity with various non-communicable not report any instances of photosensitivity reactions in
and communicable diseases. However, the comorbidity their sample . Photosensitivity reactions can have various
[12]
of schizophrenia with skin disorders remains relatively manifestations and severities. Our study demonstrates
understudied. Thus, this study aimed to contribute to the that in an Indian population with schizophrenia receiving
existing literature in this area. The results of the present antipsychotics, photosensitivity reactions are common.
study should be discussed with reference to the participants Early identification and treatment of these disorders are
being health-care-seeking patients in a tertiary hospital, the needed, as facial pigmentary disorders associated with
absence of a control group, the possibility of a selection bias photosensitivity can significantly impair quality of life and
where patients with skin complaints may have consented require long-term management.

Volume 1 Issue 2 (2023) 3 https://doi.org/10.36922/jcbp.1001