Sarcouncil Journal of Medicine and Surgery

Abstract: Hand eczema (HE) is a widespread dermatological condition that severely affects patients' quality of life. This study sets out to analyze the demographic, clinical, and psychosocial characteristics of hand eczema patients in Iraq. Methods: A cross-sectional study conducted from January 2024 to January 2025 included 280 patients from Al-Najaf Teaching Hospital and Al-Sadr Teaching Hospital in Najaf Governorate. Participants were 18 years old and above with a clinically established hand eczema diagnosis. Excluding conditions were given for active infection, currently on immunosuppressants systemically, and complicated skin conditions. Data were collected from structured interviews, medical records, and clinical assessments to assess demographic and clinical information, psychological assessment, and quality of life by DLQI. Eczema severity was assessed by using the SCORAD index. Results: The average age of participants was 34.5 years (SD 11.2). The most frequent types of eczema were irritant contact eczema (50.0%) and allergic contact eczema (32.1%). Upon assessment of severity, 42.9% were mildly affected, 39.3% moderately affected, and 17.8% severely affected. Psychological analysis revealed that 75% reported some anxiety or depression, with 28.6% experiencing moderate to severe symptoms. Diabetes (OR 2.0), smoking (OR 1.8), and food allergen sensitivity (OR 1.6) were established through logistic regression as risk factors associated with an exacerbation of severity. The study found strong negative correlations between SCORAD and DLQI (r = -0.65), confirming that as SCORAD severity increased, DLQI quality of life decreased. Overall, results show that considerable psychosocial suffering is inflicted by hand eczema in Iraqi patients and emphasizes incorporating mental health interventions into management strategies. The findings warrant increased research on the psychosocial aspect of eczema, with larger samples and randomization of great importance for validating the present study