Perception and assessment of psoriasis in the general population of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Context: Psoriasis is a chronic skin condition with a prevalence ranging from 0.51% to 11.43% and 0% to 1.37% among adults and children, respectively. Its consequences can affect patients' quality of life. Aims: This study aims to assess the perception of psoriasis among general population at Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Subjects and Methods: This is a cross-sectional study based on a structured interview questionnaire that was distributed among the residents of Riyadh. Inclusion criteria encompassed participants ≥18 years old, all educational levels, nationalities, and both genders living at Riyadh. The minimum sample size required was 385. The data were analyzed using SPSS version 23 with confidence interval of 95% and P ≤ 0.05 considered statistically significant. Results: This study included 101 (26.2%) men and 284 (73.8%) women. Seventy-eight percent of the participants were familiar with the term “psoriasis”' in Arabic. The majority of the participants had heard about the term from family and friends. Sixty-eight percent of the participants considered the disease to place a significant burden on affected individuals, 41% stated that there are effective drugs available for the treatment of psoriasis, and 12.2% considered the disease to be contagious. Some of participants did not want to shake hands, share their food, share the same swimming pool, and be in a relationship with psoriatic patients (18.2%, 13%, 54.1%, and 32%, respectively). Conclusions: Although most of Saudi population are familiar with the term “psoriasis” in Arabic, there is a significant lack of knowledge about psoriasis. This emphasizes on the need to increase psoriasis awareness, which may be achieved through campaigns, seminars, and the media to improve the knowledge and reduce the stigmatization of psoriasis.