Data Show HS Tied to Elevated Depression, Anxiety Risk

Key Takeaways

• Patients with hidradenitis suppurativa (HS) were at increased risk of developing depression and anxiety vs. matched controls.

• The elevated psychiatric risk did not consistently correlate with HS treatment type or markers of surgical severity.

• Researchers  routine psychiatric evaluation may be warranted for all patients with HS.

Patients with hidradenitis suppurativa (HS) face elevated risk of developing new-onset depression and anxiety compared with the general population, according to findings from a population-based cohort.

The analysis included 10,206 patients with HS and 40,125 matched controls, focusing on psychiatric outcomes through national registry data. The study researchers found that patients with HS were 69% more likely to develop depression (adjusted HR = 1.69; 95% CI, 1.57-1.81; P < 0.001) and 48% more likely to develop anxiety (HR = 1.48; 95% CI, 1.38-1.56; P < 0.001) than controls.

Increased risk was consistent across severity markers, including patients treated with only topical therapies (HR =1 .62), systemic nonbiologics (HR = 1.61), or biologics (HR = 1.38). There was a similar trend for multiple HS-related hospitalizations. Recurrent depression or anxiety was not significantly higher in patients with HS vs. controls.

“Using treatment- and HS-related surgical procedures as severity markers, no consistent differences in mental health risk across severity levels were observed,” the authors wrote in the study. “These findings suggest that patients with HS had an elevated risk of new-onset depression and anxiety ... emphasizing the need for psychiatric assessment and intervention across all patients with HS regardless of disease severity.”

Source: Holgersen N, et al. JAMA Dermatology. 2025. doi:10.1001/jamadermatol.2025.2298