ORIGINAL ARTICLE Childhood and adulthood traumatic experiences in patients with psoriasis Edita SIMONIC ´ , 1 Marija KAS ˇ TELAN, 1 Sandra PETERNEL, 1 Mirjana PERNAR, 2 Ines BRAJAC, 1 Ika RONC ˇ EVIC ´ -GRZ ˇ ETA, 2 Igor KARDUM 3 Departments of 1 Dermatovenerology and 2 Psychiatry, Medical Faculty of Rijeka, Clinical Hospital Center Rijeka, and 3 Department of Psychology, Faculty of Arts and Sciences, University of Rijeka, Rijeka, Croatia ABSTRACT It is well known that several psychiatric disorders may be related to childhood psychological trauma. Recent studies have associated childhood exposure to trauma to some skin diseases. Our study aimed at exploring whether psori- asis is related to the reported positive and negative traumatic life events in different age intervals beginning from early childhood to adulthood. Furthermore, we investigated differences between psoriatics with early and late onset according to traumatic experiences in different age intervals. Also, we investigated the possible correlation of trau- matic experiences with the disease severity. One hundred patients with psoriasis and 101 controls (patients with skin conditions considered to be ‘‘non-psychosomatic’’) were enrolled in the study. All participants completed a specific questionnaire measuring traumatic life experiences (Traumatic Antecedents Questionnaire, TAQ). The TAQ assesses positive personal experiences (competence and safety) and negative personal experiences (neglect, sepa- ration, secrets, emotional, physical and sexual abuse, trauma witnessing, other traumas and exposure to alco- hol ⁄ drugs) from early childhood to adulthood. The severity of psoriasis was estimated according to the Psoriasis Area and Severity Index (PASI), a standardized measuring instrument. The amount of positive experiences did not differ significantly among groups, except for safety scores that were higher in controls compared with both psoriatic groups (early and late onset). On the other side, negative traumatic experiences appeared more frequently in patients with psoriasis during all developmental periods. We found no correlation between severity of psoriasis and traumatic experiences. The present study demonstrates an increased history of childhood and adulthood negative traumatic experiences in patients with psoriasis compared to the control group. Our findings suggest a relationship between retrospectively reported negative traumatic experiences and psoriasis. Key words: life experiences, psoriasis, psychodermatology, psychological trauma, psychophysiological disorders. INTRODUCTION Psoriasis is nowadays considered to be a multifacto- rial disease presumed to be genetically conditioned. However, environmental and psychological factors can trigger the onset and ⁄ or exacerbation of the disease. 1–4 According to the new classification of psycho-dermatological disorders, psoriasis is classi- fied as a psychophysiological disease, 5 a disorder in which physical illness is caused or aggravated by psychological factors. A number of studies indicate that exposure to psychological stressors might cause, exacerbate or even affect the course of psoriasis. 6–9 Almost 30–40% of patients with psoriasis suffer significant psychological distress including anxiety, depression, disability and pathological worrying. 10–12 Correspondence: Edita Simonic ´, M.D., Department of Dermatovenerology, Clinical Hospital Center Rijeka, University of Rijeka, Kresimirova 42, 51000 Rijeka, Croatia. Email: sedita@medri.hr Received 9 September 2009; accepted 28 December 2009. doi: 10.1111/j.1346-8138.2010.00870.x Journal of Dermatology 2010; 37: 793–800 Ó 2010 Japanese Dermatological Association 793