Hidradenitis suppurativa ups risk of depression, anxiety, suicidality

Depression, anxiety, and suicidality are more likely to occur in patients with hidradenitis suppurativa (HS), results of a systematic review and meta-analysis have shown.

The investigators searched for published observational studies analysing depression or anxiety in HS in Medline, PubMed, Embase, Global Resource for Eczema Trials, Latin America and Caribbean Health Sciences Literature, Cochrane, Scopus, and PsychInfo. Two reviewers conducted the abstract/title review and data extraction. Random-effects weighting was used to perform the meta-analysis.

Of the 38 studies the met the eligibility criteria, 27 had sufficient data for meta-analysis. Individuals with HS had a higher prevalence of depression (26.5 percent vs 6.6 percent) and anxiety (18.1 percent vs 7.1 percent) than those without.

Patients with HS also had a higher risk of depression in 12 of 13 studies and pooled analysis (odds ratio [OR], 2.54, 95 percent confidence interval [CI], 2.15–3.01), as well as greater likelihood of anxiety in six of six studies and pooled analysis (OR, 2.00, 95 percent CI, 1.66–2.42).

Sensitivity analyses showed similar results for the different methods of HS diagnosis (ie, physician diagnosed and chart review) and control groups (ie, healthy and dermatologic control individuals). In addition, HS correlated with higher use of antidepressants and anxiolytics and with suicidality, but not mean depression and anxiety scale scores.

This systematic review and meta-analysis were limited by the lack of individual-level data.

“Previous studies found conflicting results about whether HS is associated with depression or anxiety,” the investigators noted.