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Hidradenitis suppurativa

Living with hidradenitis suppurativa

Hidradenitis suppurativa (HS, known in France as Verneuil’s disease) has a major impact on quality of life, because it is chronic and relapses are frequent. This page describes its effects on daily life, on work and on mood, and the diseases that can be associated with it.

This information does not replace a medical consultation. Last updated: .

What is the impact of hidradenitis suppurativa on daily life?

Hidradenitis suppurativa has a major impact on quality of life, because it is chronic and relapses are frequent.

People with hidradenitis suppurativa suffer from chronic pain, with physical, emotional and psychological effects. These effects are real: you can talk about them during your consultation.

  • At work: absence from work averages 33.6 ± 26.1 days per year [sheet].
  • Employment: 10% of patients report having lost their job because of their disease, and 23.3% think that it interferes with their career advancement [sheet].
  • Mood: a meta-analysis found a prevalence of depression of more than 21% [38].

Which diseases can be associated with hidradenitis suppurativa?

Hidradenitis suppurativa can be associated with other diseases, in particular inflammatory bowel diseases and inflammatory rheumatic diseases.

This is why the doctor looks for digestive or joint symptoms in people with hidradenitis suppurativa. Having hidradenitis suppurativa does not mean that a person will develop these diseases.

  • Crohn’s disease: 0.8% of people with hidradenitis suppurativa, compared with 0.3% in the general population [25].
  • Ulcerative colitis: 1.3%, compared with 0.7% in the general population [25].
  • Spondyloarthropathy (an inflammatory rheumatic disease): 3.7%, compared with 1 to 2% in the general population, depending on the European country [23] [24].
  • Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS): the probability of having PCOS is 2.14 times higher in female patients with hidradenitis suppurativa [29].

The summary sheet also mentions obesity, metabolic syndrome, cardiovascular diseases, psychological disorders and other skin diseases [sheet].

Find out more

The management of pain and of the psychological effects is described on the page Treatments.

To find out which doctor to see and to prepare for your appointment, see the page Seeing a doctor.

What are the sources for this page?

The facts and figures on this page come from the summary sheet “Maladie de Verneuil – Épidémiologie” (SNFCP, 2024) and the studies it cites.

[sheet] Ezanno AC, Fougerousse AC, Alam A. Maladie de Verneuil – Épidémiologie. Diplôme inter-universitaire de proctologie médicochirurgicale, SNFCP, 2024.

Studies cited by the summary sheet and used on this page, with their original number:

  1. Schneeweiss MC, Kim SC, Schneeweiss S, Rosmarin D, Merola JF. Risk of Inflammatory Arthritis After a New Diagnosis of Hidradenitis Suppurativa. JAMA Dermatol. 2020 Mar 1;156(3):342–5. Search on PubMed
  2. Schneider-Burrus S, Witte-Haendel E, Christou D, Rigoni B, Sabat R, Diederichs G. High Prevalence of Back Pain and Axial Spondyloarthropathy in Patients with Hidradenitis Suppurativa. Dermatol Basel Switz. 2016;232(5):606–12. Search on PubMed
  3. Egeberg A, Jemec GBE, Kimball AB, Bachelez H, Gislason GH, Thyssen JP, et al. Prevalence and Risk of Inflammatory Bowel Disease in Patients with Hidradenitis Suppurativa. J Invest Dermatol. 2017 May;137(5):1060–4. Search on PubMed
  4. Garg A, Neuren E, Strunk A. Hidradenitis Suppurativa Is Associated with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome: A Population-Based Analysis in the United States. J Invest Dermatol. 2018 Jun;138(6):1288–92. Search on PubMed
  5. Jalenques I, Ciortianu L, Pereira B, D’Incan M, Lauron S, Rondepierre F. The prevalence and odds of anxiety and depression in children and adults with hidradenitis suppurativa: Systematic review and meta-analysis. J Am Acad Dermatol. 2020 Aug;83(2):542–53. Search on PubMed

All the site’s sources and how to cite the site: Sources and method.