The Prevalence of Clinically Undiagnosed Depression in Patients With Autoimmune Bullous Diseases Seen at Inkosi Albert Luthuli Central Hospital, Durban, South Africa

TL;DR

This study finds that many patients with autoimmune bullous diseases have undiagnosed depression, suggesting a need for better mental health screening in dermatology.

Contribution

The study reports the prevalence of undiagnosed depression in autoimmune bullous disease patients in a South African hospital setting for the first time.

Findings

52.3% of patients had at least mild depression, and 20.5% had at least moderate depression.

Pemphigus vulgaris patients had the highest median depression scores compared to other bullous diseases.

Statistically significant differences were found in disease duration, age, and age at onset between genders and disease types.

Abstract

Background

Chronic autoimmune bullous diseases have been associated with major depression in previous studies. This has been attributed to inflammatory cytokines, chronic pain, and the chronicity and debilitating nature of the disease. As no similar studies have been conducted in our setting, we aimed to determine the prevalence and severity of clinically undiagnosed depression in patients with autoimmune bullous diseases.

Methodology

We performed a cross-sectional study among outpatients managed in a bullous disease clinic at Inkosi Albert Luthuli Central Hospital, a quaternary provincial hospital in Durban, South Africa.

Results

A total of 44 participants were recruited and included in this study. The majority of the participants were females (29, 65.9%). The most common autoimmune bullous diseases were pemphigus vulgaris (19, 43.2%), bullous pemphigoid (18, 40.9%), and pemphigus foliaceus (5, 11.4%). The overall prevalence of at least mild and at least moderate depression in patients with autoimmune bullous diseases in our clinic was 52.3% and 20.5%, respectively. Pemphigus vulgaris showed the highest median Patient Health Questionnaire-9 score compared to other bullous dermatoses. Statistically significant differences were observed between females and males for the duration with the bullous disease (p = 0.014) and between intraepidermal and subepidermal disease for both the mean age (p = 0.038) and age at onset (p = 0.015).

Conclusions

Clinically undiagnosed depression is common in patients with autoimmune bullous disease. Its frequency and severity may differ depending on the underlying autoimmune bullous disease and possibly other factors. Dermatologists should always be alert to this fact and prompt psychiatric consultation as required to comprehensively manage these patients.

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