DLQI Calculator

Dermatology Life Quality Index — Finlay & Khan, 1994

Purpose
Patient-reported measure of how much a skin disease has affected the patient's life over the last week. Dermatology-specific, 10 items, ~2 minutes.
Population
Adults (≥ 16 years) with any skin disease. Children 4–16 years: use the CDLQI. Used as an eligibility/response criterion for biologics in psoriasis, atopic dermatitis, hidradenitis and urticaria guidelines.
Scoring
Each item 0–3 (very much 3 · a lot 2 · a little 1 · not at all 0 · not relevant 0). Q7 "Yes" = 3. Total 0–30; one unanswered item scores 0, two or more → not scored. MCID = 4 points (Basra 2015).
Score bands
0–1 no effect · 2–5 small · 6–10 moderate · 11–20 very large · 21–30 extremely large effect on the patient's life (Hongbo 2005).
© The DLQI is copyright © A.Y. Finlay, G.K. Khan, April 1992 (Cardiff University). It may be used free of charge for routine clinical purposes by clinicians and patients; use by pharmaceutical companies, for-profit organisations and in research requires registration and, where applicable, a licence from Cardiff University (dermatology.cardiff.ac.uk). The wording, format and order of the questions must not be altered.
📝 Questionnaire

The aim of this questionnaire is to measure how much your skin problem has affected your life OVER THE LAST WEEK. Please tick one box for each question.

📋 Score bands and use — reference
  • 0–1 no effect · 2–5 small · 6–10 moderate · 11–20 very large · 21–30 extremely large effect on the patient's life (Hongbo et al., 2005).
  • Minimal clinically important difference: 4 points (Basra et al., 2015); a change within band 0–1 is not clinically meaningful.
  • DLQI > 10 is used alongside PASI/BSA > 10 in the "rule of tens" for moderate-to-severe psoriasis (Finlay 2005) and as a treatment goal (DLQI 0–1 = no effect) in psoriasis and atopic dermatitis guidelines.
  • Domains: symptoms & feelings (Q1–2) · daily activities (Q3–4) · leisure (Q5–6) · work & school (Q7) · personal relationships (Q8–9) · treatment (Q10). Domain scores are descriptive only.
📚 References
  1. Finlay AY, Khan GK. Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI) — a simple practical measure for routine clinical use. Clin Exp Dermatol. 1994;19(3):210–6.
  2. Hongbo Y, Thomas CL, Harrison MA, Salek MS, Finlay AY. Translating the science of quality of life into practice: what do dermatology life quality index scores mean? J Invest Dermatol. 2005;125(4):659–64.
  3. Basra MK, Salek MS, Camilleri L, Sturkey R, Finlay AY. Determining the minimal clinically important difference and responsiveness of the Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI): further data. Dermatology. 2015;230(1):27–33.
  4. Basra MK, Fenech R, Gatt RM, Salek MS, Finlay AY. The Dermatology Life Quality Index 1994–2007: a comprehensive review of validation data and clinical results. Br J Dermatol. 2008;159(5):997–1035.
  5. de Tiedra AG, Mercadal J, Badía X, Mascaró JM, Herdman M, Lozano R. Adaptación transcultural al español del cuestionario Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI): el Índice de Calidad de Vida en Dermatología. Actas Dermosifiliogr. 1998;89:692–700.
  6. Cardiff University, Department of Dermatology. DLQI instructions for use and scoring. dermatology.cardiff.ac.uk (accessed 2026).
Clinical decision support only. This tool is intended to assist clinical assessment and does not replace professional judgment. Always interpret results in the context of the individual patient.