Depression and appearance-related distress in functioning with lipedema
Lipedema is a chronic, progressive adipose tissue disorder that may impact the quality of life of women who suffer from it. The main aim of this study was to asses the role of perceived symptom severity, physical and psychological functioning with the disease in predicting quality of
life in patients with lipedema. We conducted an online study with 329 participants who responded to five questionnaires measuring quality of life (World Health Organization Quality of Life BREF), lipedema symptom severity, mobility (Lower Extremity Functional Scale), depression (Patients
Health Questionnaire-9), and appearance-related distress (Derriford Appearance Scale 24). Multiple hierarchical regression analyses showed that appearance-related distress and depression explained significantly more variance in quality of life when added to the symptom severity and mobility.
Lower quality of life was predicted by higher symptom severity, lower mobility, higher appearance-related distress and higher depression severity. Appearance-related distress and depression constitute important aspects of psychological functioning in women with lipedema. Considering their
relationship with quality of life, their assessment should be included in lipedema treatment with appropriate interventions aimed at decreasing appearance-related distress, as well as preventing and addressing depression.
Keywords: Lipedema; appearance-related distress; depression; disfigurement; lipoedema; quality of life
Document Type: Research Article
Affiliations: 1: Faculty of Psychology, SWPS University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Warsaw, Poland 2: Private Practice, Almere, Netherlands
Publication date: 09 August 2018
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