Citation

Gupta MA, Gupta AK. Clin. Dermatol. 2013; 31(1): 57-61.

Affiliation

Department of Psychiatry, Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Western Ontario, 585 Springbank Drive, Suite 101, London, Ontario, N6J 1H3, Canada. Electronic address: magupta@uwo.ca.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2013, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/j.clindermatol.2011.11.007

PMID

23245974

Abstract

It is well recognized that the clinical course of many dermatologic disorders is the result of a complex and sometimes reciprocal interaction between biological, psychiatric/psychological, and social factors that can have a predisposing, precipitating, and/or perpetuating role for the dermatologic disorder. Assessment of psychiatric and psychosocial comorbidity, which can be present in up to 30% of dermatology patients, is an important component of the overall clinical evaluation of the patient. This paper discusses a practical approach to the assessment of psychosocial and psychiatric factors, including suicide risk and parasuicidal behaviors in the dermatology patient. The approach further classifies these factors as predisposing, precipitating, and/or perpetuating, in order to aid the clinician with the possible secondary and tertiary prevention of some dermatologic disorders by management of their psychosocial and psychiatric comorbidity.

Language: en