Prevalence and severity of mental health symptoms with seborrheic dermatitis: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Summary: Abstract Body: Seborrheic dermatitis (SD) can substantially impact quality of life, though there are conflicting reports about the relationship between SD and mental health symptoms. We evaluated the prevalence and severity of mental health symptoms in SD through systematic review and meta-analysis. Following PRISMA guidelines, we conducted a comprehensive search of PubMed, Scopus, Embase, CINAHL, and Cochrane databases in June 2024. Inclusion criteria included published studies reporting quantitative mental health symptoms in SD patients using scoring instruments such as the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS). Data were extracted and analyzed using a random-effects model to estimate pooled proportions and means in R (v4.4.1). Of 524 deduplicated abstracts that were initially screened, a total of 15 studies (n= 12,668 SD patients) were included following full text review. Depression (8/15 studies) and anxiety (6/15) were the most frequently reported mental health symptoms; others included heightened stress, obsessive-compulsive disorder and alexithymia. The pooled prevalence of depression symptoms among 1,193 SD patients from 6 studies was 21% [95%CI: 8%–47%], with high heterogeneity (I2=97%; p<0.001). Similarly, the pooled prevalence of anxiety symptoms among 1,065 SD patients (4 studies) was 19% [7%–42%], with similar heterogeneity. Of the 3 studies (n=267) which reported HADS data, total pooled mean HADS-D was 5.9 [5.4-6.2] and HADS-A was 7.6 [7.2-8.1]. These findings highlight a considerable mental health burden in SD patients, with nearly 1 in 5 reporting depression and anxiety symptoms – similar to the observed mental health burden in better studied inflammatory skin diseases. These data suggest a need for more routine evaluation to address the mental health challenges faced by SD patients. Additional prospective studies are warranted to investigate underlying mechanisms and interventions to improve patient outcomes. Jiaqi Chen¹, Carmen Li¹, Meredith Polaskey¹, Christy Chang², Raj Chovatiya¹ 1. Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science Chicago Medical School, North Chicago, IL, United States. 2. University of Illinois Chicago College of Medicine, Chicago, IL, United States. Clinical Research: Epidemiology and Observational Research