The Dermatology Life Quality Index is the most used quality of life measure in skin disease trials. Ten questions, a one-week recall and a 0 to 30 score, including the one branching question most paper versions get wrong.
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Skin and daily life · Week 12
Over the last week:
Work or study (question 7)
Follow-up question shown because answer is No
How much of a problem at work or study?
DLQI at a glance
The instrument
Skin diseases such as psoriasis, atopic dermatitis and hidradenitis suppurativa rarely threaten life, but they disrupt it: itch that ruins sleep, clothing choices, work, relationships and the burden of treatment itself. The DLQI captures that impact in ten questions that take a couple of minutes, and it has been used in so many trials that its bands and change scores are widely understood by clinicians, payers and regulators.
In psoriasis and eczema trials it often appears as a key secondary endpoint alongside clinician-rated severity measures, with outcomes such as the proportion of participants reaching a DLQI of 0 or 1 (no effect on life). A change of about four points is commonly cited as the minimal clinically important difference.
First, several questions offer "not relevant". It scores 0, but it is not the same as "not at all", so store it as its own answer rather than recoding it at entry. Second, question 7 asks whether skin prevented work or study. "Yes" scores 3. "No" or "not relevant" leads to a follow-up on how much of a problem skin was at work or study, scored 2, 1 or 0. In Capture the follow-up is shown with skip logic only when it applies.
The developers' guidance is that one unanswered question is scored 0 and the total calculated, but two or more unanswered questions mean the DLQI is not scored. Making every question required on the ePRO form prevents most of this, and the rule belongs in your analysis plan.
Week 12 total
4 / 30
Structure
| Domain | Questions | Max score |
|---|---|---|
| Symptoms and feelings | 1 to 2 | 6 |
| Daily activities | 3 to 4 | 6 |
| Leisure | 5 to 6 | 6 |
| Work and school | 7 (with follow-up) | 3 |
| Personal relationships | 8 to 9 | 6 |
| Treatment | 10 | 3 |
| Total | 10 questions | 30 |
Structure only. Obtain the DLQI, official translations and permission from the copyright holders before use.
Build it in Capture
Each question is a single-choice item with its score stored as the code and the wording as the label, including a separate "not relevant" option. Skip logic shows the question 7 follow-up only for "No" or "not relevant". The licence number, holder and expiry sit on the form.
Copyright & licence
Approval pendingLicence number
Not recorded
Expiry date
Not recorded
Watermark shown to staff only. Participants never see it.
In a dermatology study
Dermatology trials pair the DLQI with clinician-rated severity scores recorded at the same visit. Capture keeps both in one casebook: the participant completes the DLQI on their phone before the visit, and the investigator records severity during it.
| Assessment | Scr | BL | W2 | W4 | W8 | W12 | W16 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DLQI (ePRO) | |||||||
| Severity score (site) | |||||||
| Itch NRS diary | D | D | D | D | D | D | |
| Vital signs |
D = daily diary between visits
Build the DLQI form in the sandbox and answer it on your phone.
As an endpoint
The DLQI is reported in two main ways. The first is mean change from baseline in the total score, often with the four-point minimal clinically important difference used to interpret it. The second is a responder outcome: the proportion of participants reaching DLQI 0 or 1, meaning their skin disease no longer has any effect on their life. In modern psoriasis trials, where clinician-rated clearance is often high, DLQI 0/1 has become one of the most persuasive outcomes for clinicians and payers.
Because the recall period is only one week, a single bad week around a visit can move the score. Keep visit windows tight, and schedule the DLQI before any in-clinic procedures on the day so that clinic experiences do not colour the answers.
The DLQI is for adults and adolescents from about 16 years. For children aged roughly 4 to 16, the Children's DLQI (CDLQI) has age-appropriate wording, and cartoon versions exist for younger children. Paediatric studies that span both age groups need both instruments and a rule for which one each participant completes.
Before go-live
From the copyright holders; record licence details on the form.
Check every path: Yes, No and not relevant.
Stored as its own answer, scored 0 in analysis.
Two or more missing answers make the DLQI unscorable.
Decide which instrument applies to adolescents in your study.
DLQI 0/1 and the MCID threshold named in the analysis plan.
Ten questions scored 0 to 3 are summed for a total of 0 to 30. Higher scores mean a larger effect on quality of life.
0 to 1 no effect, 2 to 5 small, 6 to 10 moderate, 11 to 20 very large and 21 to 30 extremely large effect on the patient's life.
As 0. Store it as its own answer rather than recoding it to "not at all" at entry.
"Yes" (skin prevented work or study) scores 3. "No" or "not relevant" leads to a follow-up scored 2, 1 or 0. Capture shows the follow-up with skip logic.
A change of about four points is commonly cited as the minimal clinically important difference.
No. It is copyrighted and permission is required; commercial use may involve a fee.
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Daily itch and symptom diaries.
What is MCID?
Meaningful change explained.
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Licensed instruments with licence tracking.
EDC for quality of life studies
QoL-led study designs.
Build the DLQI with correct branching and licence tracking. Free sandbox.