Impact of fatigue and musculoskeletal pain on QoL in pediatric patients with psoriasis

Musculoskeletal pain and fatigue are common among children and young adults with PsO and significantly impact HRQoL.¹ An observational study aiming to assess musculoskeletal complaints in pediatric patients with PsO, compare findings with healthy controls, and verify QoL impacts was published in the Journal of Psoriasis and Psoriatic Arthritis by Meneghetti et al.¹

Children and adolescents with PsO (n = 50) and healthy controls (n = 50) aged 3–19 years were included in the study.¹ PedsQL 4.0 and PedQL-MFS were used to measure general HRQoL and fatigue, respectively, with higher scores of ≥100 suggesting no impairment.¹

Key learnings

Patients with PsO reported more frequent musculoskeletal pain than controls; 6% vs 3% reported pain twice a week or more and 6% vs 1% reported pain once a week or more.

Patients with PsO and musculoskeletal pain had lower mean PedsQL 4.0 scores (78.7 vs 87.1; p < 0.01) and PedsQL-MFS scores (73.7 vs 83.1; p < 0.001) vs controls. 

Musculoskeletal pain was an independent predictor of poorer HRQoL, with the risk of impaired HRQoL 7.7 times higher in the presence of musculoskeletal pain (OR, 7.71; 95% CI, 1.66–35.78).

Findings suggest that musculoskeletal pain and fatigue may provide insights into systemic impairment in pediatric PsO and offer the potential to reduce disease burden through effective systemic treatments. Studies focusing on etiology, biomarkers, and systemic impairment are warranted.