Assessment of psychoemotional state of children and adolescents with dermatological pathology in excess body weight and obesity

In order to assess the psychoemotional state of children and adolescents with dermatological pathology with excess body weight and obesity, a study was performed using the Luscher color test among 270 children and adolescents aged 5–17 years with various dermatological pathologies and overweight or obesity. The control group consisted of 270 patients with a similar skin pathology, but with a body weight corresponding to the age and gender norms.

In general, the emotional state of children and adolescents of the main group, compared with patients in the control group, was 4.3 times more likely to be assessed as unsatisfactory (2 points) or as crisis (1 point), and a favorable emotional state (3–4 points) was recorded in them 2.8 times less often than in the control group. In the main group, the psychoemotional state in 5–6 year-old children in most cases did not cause concern: 78.9% of them scored 3–4 points. In the old groups, the situation was another: only 61% in 7–11 year-old children and only 53.6% — in 12–17 year-old ones scored 3–4 points. Differences in test results between boys and girls were registered. As the degree of obesity increased, the proportion of patients with an unsatisfactory or crisis emotional state increased from 15.4% with overweight to 38.8, 70.9 and 77.4% respectively, with obesity of I, II and III degrees. Among patients with two or more dermatological pathologies, the number of children and adolescents who scored 1–2 points during testing was 2.1 times higher than the same indicator in the group with one skin disease.

Conflict of interest. The authors declare no conflict of interest.

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