The Effect of Pruritus and Pain on the Quality of Life

Objective: Pruritus and pain are disturbing symptoms. They display similar pathogenetic and clinical characteristics and affect the quality of life significantly. However, it is unknown which affects the quality of life more adversely. Our aim is to determine which of the symptoms of pruritus and pain affects the quality of life more in negative way.\udMethods: Fifty patients with functional pruritus (FP) and fifty patients with fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS) were included in the study. Visual analog scale (VAS) was used to measure the severity of pruritus and pain. The World Health Organization Quality of Life BREF-TR was used to evaluate the life quality of the patients.\udResults: Patients of the FP group of 45 (90%) was female and 5 (10%) was male, meanwhile in the FMS group 49 (98%) was female and 1 (2%) was male. The average disease duration of the patients was 39.9±65.2 months in FP group and 112.9±103.4 months in FMS group. The average VAS scores were 7.9±1.9 in FP group and 7.4±2.1 in FMS group. When the disease duration factor was eliminated and re-evaluated at statistical analysis, the domain scores was found statistically different for both groups (p<0.05) significantly. All domain scores were correlated positively with each other.\udConclusion: Pain affects the life quality of individuals more negatively than pruritus. In the treatment of patients, it should not be only aimed to relieve their symptoms but also to improve their quality of life with holistic approach