Hidradenitis Suppurativa Increases the Risk for Depression

Patients with hidradenitis suppurativa (HS) are at an increased risk of new-onset depression, according to the results of a recent study.

The researchers conducted a cohort analysis to understand the association of children, adolescents, and adults with HS, and incident depression.

Included were 49,280 adults and 3042 pediatric patients with HS. The researchers used electronic health record data to match control individuals for the analysis.

The results indicated that the crude incidence rate was 4.8 per 100 person-years for adult patients with HS. In comparison, control individuals reported a crude incidence rate of 3.0 per 100 person-years. In pediatric patients with HS, the rate was 4.2 per 100 person-years, while the control individuals’ rate was 2.3 per 100 person-years.

An adjusted analysis revealed an increased risk of developing depression in patients with HS than those of the control group. Adult patients with HS had an increased risk of 10, whereas pediatric patients with HS had an increased risk of 26%.

Female gender, White race, smoking, and body mass index/obesity in adults and pediatric patients, and substance abuse in adults, were among the factors associated with depression in patients with HS. Limitations of the study included patients who were not included in the system database as they were not seeking health care.

—Leigh Precopio

Reference:

Wright S, Strunk A, Garg A. New-onset depression among children, adolescents, and adults with hidradenitis suppurativa. J Am Acad Dermatol. 2020;83(5):1360-1366. doi:10.1016/j.jaad.2020.05.090