The British journal of dermatology
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Pigmentation disorders, such as melasma, greatly influence the quality of life (QoL) of affected individuals who usually consider the disorder to be more severe than the objective clinical scores. Several instruments have been successfully developed to evaluate QoL. However, they must be adapted to the target population in terms of language and cultural diversity. The first, specific QoL questionnaire for melasma (MelasQoL) was developed for English speaking patients. ⋯ This study demonstrates that MelasQoL-BP is a valid instrument and can be used to evaluate the quality of life and response to melasma treatment in Brazilian patients. The triple combination treatment produced significant results, regarding both clinical severity and quality of life.
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Atopic dermatitis (AD) accounts for 10-20% of referrals to secondary care dermatology, often requiring multiple visits and occupying much valuable time and resources. ⋯ We have provided further important information on the effects of AD on infants and their families using the IDQOL and DFI QoL measures. We demonstrate the usefulness of these measures in routine clinical management of AD and show the beneficial effect for both infants and parents of the initial consultation by a dermatology team in a secondary care setting.
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Striae distensae are widely known to occur in pregnancy and aesthetically they can be a cause of great concern for many women. Various factors have been reported to be associated with the development of striae but the results are conflicting. ⋯ Logistic regression analysis demonstrated that maternal age, body mass index, weight gain and neonatal birth weight were independently associated with the occurrence of striae. It appears that the group at highest risk of developing severe striae are teenagers. This finding is important and may provide impetus to explore the pathomechanisms of striae.