Document Type : Original Article

Authors

• Mohammad Mahdi Parvizi ^{1, 2, 3}
• Mozhdeh Sepaskhah ⁴
• Nasrin Saki ⁴
• Negin Fazelzadeh Haghighi ⁴
• Soliman Mohammadi-Samani ^{5, 6}
• Parisa Ghasemiyeh ⁵
• Fatemeh Karimi ⁷
• Soodabeh Samimi ⁸
• Sara Ranjbar ⁹
• Zahra Bagheri ¹⁰

¹ Molecular Dermatology Research Center,

² Research Center for Traditional Medicine and History of Medicine,

³ Department of Medical Journalism, School of Paramedical Sciences, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran

⁴ Department of Dermatology, School of Medicine, Molecular Dermatology Research Center, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran

⁵ Pharmaceutical Sciences Research Center, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran

⁶ Department of Pharmaceutics, School of Pharmacy, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran

⁷ Department of Dermatology, School of Medicine, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran

⁸ Research Center for Traditional Medicine and History of Medicine, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran

⁹ Molecular Dermatology Research Center, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran

¹⁰ Department of Biostatistics, School of Medicine, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran

Abstract

Introduction: Melasma is a prevalent pigmentary disorder that often affects quality of life. Prior studies reported inconsistent associations between clinical factors and quality of life in these patients, which highlighted the need for further research.
Methods: Demographic and clinical data of 211 melasma patients, including severity of melasma assessed by modified Melasma Area and Severity Index (mMASI) and melanin index, were collected. Quality of life was evaluated using the validated Persian version of the Melasma Quality of Life (MELASQoL) questionnaire. Data were analyzed using Stata software (version 14.2). P<0.05 was considered statistically significant.
Results: The mean age of the patients was 39.20±6.61 years, and the mean of disease duration was 7.34±5.72 years. About 164 (77.73%) patients were married, 54.81% reported a family history of melasma, and 54.63% had received prior treatment. No significant association was found between mean mMASI (5.80±3.09) and MELASQoL (43.42±18.24) scores (r=0.136, P=0.051). Patients with education at the Master’s level or higher reported significantly better quality of life (P=0.005). No significant association was found between other demographic or clinical factors and quality of life or disease severity (P>0.05).
Conclusion: Despite the substantial impact of melasma on quality of life, its severity was not significantly associated with patient’s quality of life. Although higher education level was associated with better quality of life, other demographic and clinical variables showed no significant effects.

Keywords

• Melasma
• Epidemiology
• Demography
• Quality of life
• modified Melasma Area and Severity Index