Letter to the Editor

Impact of Psoriasis on Patients’ Social Network Behavior

Authors: Yumeng M. Li, MD, MS, Fabrizio Galimberti, MD, PhD

Abstract

To the Editor: Social media has an increasingly important role in life. Healthcare-related topics make up an important aspect of social posts because approximately 25% of social media users follow friends’ health updates online and approximately 10% post about their own health.1 The impact of social media on our actual health cannot be underestimated. Indeed, Facebook and other social media have been shown to have a positive impact on patients with chronic conditions.1 Moreover, recent studies have shown that patients with chronic conditions, particularly adolescents, tend to spend more time online during flare-ups.2 Although this suggests a potential role for social media in helping patients with chronic conditions, little is known about how chronic conditions affect social media posting. We created a survey questionnaire to investigate how psoriasis affects social media posting habits and the general attitude of psoriasis patients toward social media.
Posted in: Dermatology15

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References

1. Patel R, Chang T, Greysen SR, et al. Social media use in chronic disease: a systematic review and novel taxonomy. Am J Med 2015;128:1335–1350.
 
2. De Nardi L, Trombetta A, Ghirardo S, et al. Adolescents with chronic disease and social media: a cross-sectional study. Arch Dis Child 2020;105:744–748.
 
3. Jankowiak B, Kowalewska B, Krajewska-Kułak E, et al. Stigmatization and quality of life in patients with psoriasis. Dermatol Ther 2020;10: 285–296.