Background/Objectives: Hidradenitis suppurativa (HS) is a chronic, inflammatory, and recurrent disorder of the pilosebaceous unit with numerous comorbidities. Growing evidence suggests that depression and anxiety occur more frequently in HS patients, yet their relationship with clinical severity and especially subjective symptoms remains insufficiently understood. The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence and severity of probable depressive and anxiety symptoms in Polish patients with HS and to examine their associations with clinical disease severity, pain and itch intensity, and quality of life (QoL). Methods: Eighty-four HS patients were included in this cross-sectional study. Disease severity was assessed using Hurley staging and the IHS4. Pain and itch intensity were evaluated using the Numeric Rating Scale (NRS). Psychological assessment included self-administered screening questionnaires, such as PHQ-9 and HADS-D for depression and GAD-7 and HADS-A for anxiety. QoL was measured using DLQI and HiSQOL instruments. Statistical analyses were performed with p < 0.05 considered significant. Results: Possible depressive disorders were identified in 25.0% of patients. PHQ-9 and HADS-D scores differed significantly across Hurley stages and correlated positively with IHS4. Possible anxiety disorder according to GAD-7 criteria was present in 15.5% of patients. Both GAD-7 and HADS-A correlated with IHS4. They also showed correlations with pain and/or itch intensity. All psychological measures showed strong correlations with both QoL instruments. Conclusions: Depression and anxiety seem to be common in HS and closely associated with clinical severity and reduced QoL. Their relation with pain and itch requires further studies. These findings underscore the need for multidisciplinary management in HS care.

Hidradenitis suppurativa (HS) is a chronic inflammatory disease associated with substantial physical and psychosocial burden. Its long-term impact on major life-changing decisions (MLCD) remains poorly investigated. This cross-sectional study included 123 adult HS patients assessed using the validated Major Life-Changing Decision Profile (MLCDP). Disease severity was evaluated with Hurley staging and IHS4. Quality of life (DLQI, HiSQOL), disease acceptance (AIS), and psychiatric symptoms (PHQ-9, GAD-7) were also assessed. Overall, 87.887.8% of patients reported at least one affected MLCD, with a mean of 6.2±65.2 decisions per patient. The mean MLCDP total score was 20.1±1720.91 points, without sex differences. The most frequently affected areas concerned lifestyle habits, physical activity, and intimate relationships. Patients with Hurley stage III demonstrated significantly higher MLCDP scores compared with stages I and II. MLCDP correlated with IHS4 (r=r0.218), pain intensity (r=r0.256), DLQI (r=r0.401), HiSQOL (r=r0.507), PHQ-9 (r=r0.354), and GAD-7 (r=r0.315) (all p<p0.05). A strong inverse correlation was observed with illness acceptance (r = −0.584, p<p0.001). HS substantially influences key life decisions, particularly in patients with advanced disease and reduced psychological adaptation.

Introduction: Melanoma is a chronic disease that significantly affects patients’ daily functioning and emotional well-being. Beyond its somatic burden, it often leads to substantial changes in quality of life (QoL). This study aimed to assess illness acceptance among melanoma patients and examine its associations with selected clinical characteristics (disease stage, pruritus and time since diagnosis), psychological distress (depression and anxiety) and QoL. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted between June 2025 and February 2026 at two tertiary oncology centers in Poland. Initially, 191 consecutive melanoma patients were recruited, of whom 162 (58.6% men; mean age 59.8 ± 13.7 years) were included in the final analysis (response rate: 84.8%). Participants completed validated questionnaires assessing illness acceptance (Acceptance of Illness Scale (AIS)), depression (PHQ-9, HADS-D), anxiety (GAD-7, HADS-A), and QoL (DLQI). Statistical analyses were performed, with p < 0.05 considered statistically significant. Results: The mean AIS score was 13.28 ± 7.50 points, indicating a remarkably low level of illness acceptance. In the multivariable linear regression analysis, greater depressive symptoms (HADS-D: β = −1.16, 95% CI −1.79 to −0.54; p < 0.001) and more advanced melanoma stage (β = −1.52, 95% CI −2.92 to −0.12; p = 0.034) were independently associated with lower illness acceptance. In addition, illness acceptance showed significant correlations with depressive symptoms, anxiety symptoms, and dermatology-related QoL, whereas no significant associations were observed with most evaluated demographic and clinical variables. Conclusions: Patients with melanoma demonstrated remarkably low illness acceptance. Depressive symptoms and more advanced melanoma stage were independently associated with lower illness acceptance. These findings support the integration of psychological assessment into comprehensive melanoma care.

Background/Objectives: Hidradenitis suppurativa (HS) is a chronic inflammatory skin disease associated with psychiatric burden, but longitudinal data on incident psychiatric outcomes remain limited. This study aimed to evaluate incident psychiatric disorders in adults with HS compared with matched non-HS controls and to assess sex-specific risk. Methods: We conducted a retrospective propensity score–matched cohort study using the TriNetX Global Collaborative Network. Adults with at least two HS diagnoses and no prior psychiatric diagnosis were compared with non-HS controls with repeated general health examination encounters and no psychiatric history. Time-to-event analyses estimated hazard ratios (HRs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Sensitivity analyses used a 30-day lag and restriction to the most recent 5-year period. Results: After matching, 37,964 pairs were retained for the primary individual-outcome analysis. Median follow-up was shorter in the HS cohort than in matched controls (844 vs. 1505 days). HS was associated with increased risk of any psychiatric disorder (12.3% vs. 5.8%; HR 3.17, 95% CI 3.01–3.34) and severe psychiatric illness (0.6% vs. 0.1%; HR 6.70, 95% CI 4.77–9.41). Elevated risks were observed for bipolar/manic disorders, personality disorders, substance use disorders, psychotic disorders, suicidal ideation, depression, eating disorders, anxiety, and insomnia/parasomnia. Women had higher hazards of depression and anxiety, whereas men had higher hazards of substance use disorders; insomnia/parasomnia showed a nominal association with higher hazard in men. Conclusions: In this observational EHR-based study, HS was associated with broad incident psychiatric morbidity. These findings support consideration of proactive mental health assessment and integrated dermatologic–psychiatric care in patients with HS.

Background/Objectives: Patients with melanoma may experience depression and anxiety, but their relationship with dermatology-related quality of life (QoL) remains insufficiently characterized. This study assessed depressive and anxiety symptoms and their associations with QoL, sex, disease stage, and time since diagnosis. Methods: This cross-sectional study included 162 adults with histologically confirmed melanoma recruited consecutively at two Polish tertiary oncology centers. Participants completed the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7), Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), and Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI). Associations were examined using non-parametric tests and multivariable linear regression. Results: Positive screening rates were 8.8% for depression using PHQ-9 and 15.2% using HADS-D, and 19.1% for anxiety using GAD-7 and 27.4% using HADS-A. Women had higher PHQ-9, GAD-7, and HADS-A scores than men. All psychological measures correlated with DLQI scores (Spearman’s ρ = 0.328–0.414; all adjusted q < 0.001). In multivariable models, higher DLQI scores independently correlated with greater symptom severity across all four measures (all p ≤ 0.001). Female sex independently correlated with higher PHQ-9 and GAD-7 scores, while younger age correlated with higher PHQ-9, GAD-7, and HADS-A scores. Neither melanoma stage nor time since diagnosis was independently associated with psychological symptoms. Conclusions: Depressive and anxiety symptoms are clinically relevant in melanoma and closely associated with poorer dermatology-related QoL. Psychological screening should not be limited to patients with advanced disease. Females and younger patients may warrant particular attention.

Background/Objectives: Hidradenitis suppurativa (HS) is a chronic inflammatory skin disease associated with substantial physical and psychosocial burden. Illness acceptance is an important component of adaptation to chronic disease, yet it remains underexplored in HS. Therefore, this study aimed to assess illness acceptance in HS patients. Methods: This cross-sectional study included 123 consecutive adult HS patients. Illness acceptance was assessed using the Acceptance of Illness Scale (AIS). Disease severity was evaluated using Hurley staging and the International Hidradenitis Suppurativa Severity Score System (IHS4). Pain and itch were measured using the Numeric Rating Scale. Quality of life (QoL) was assessed with the Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI) and Hidradenitis Suppurativa Quality of Life (HiSQoL). Depression and anxiety were evaluated using PHQ-9, GAD-7, and HADS. Results: The mean AIS score was 31 ± 8.7 points, with 14% of patients showing low and 24% moderate illness acceptance. Lower acceptance was associated with higher Hurley stage (p = 0.031). A significant negative correlation between AIS scores and IHS4 values was found (r = −0.26; p = 0.013). Additionally, AIS scores correlated negatively with pain (r = −0.22; p = 0.019) and itch (r = −0.23; p = 0.021). Strong negative correlations were found with QoL impairment (DLQI: r = −0.63; HiSQoL: r = −0.65; p < 0.001) and psychological distress, including depression (PHQ-9: r = −0.55; HADS-D: r = −0.60) and anxiety (GAD-7: r = −0.50; HADS-A: r = −0.56; p < 0.001 for all). Conclusions: Targeting illness acceptance may improve overall patient outcomes.