Acne in adolescents: quality of life, self-esteem, mood, and psychological disorders

Abstract

Introduction: Acne is a significant adolescent problem and may precipitate emotional and psychological effects. The impact of acne on psychological parameters and implications for acne treatment are not fully understood.

Methods: We performed a MEDLINE search using the terms "acne" and "adolescent" along with "psychological," "depression," or "psychiatric," which yielded 16 reviewed studies.

Results: Qualitative review of the selected articles revealed that the presence of acne has a significant impact on self-esteem and quality of life. Depression and other psychological disorders are more prevalent in acne patients and acne treatment may improve symptoms of these disorders.

Limitations: The reviewed studies were semi-quantitative analyses utilizing various standardized surveys or questionnaires. Therefore, quantitative analysis of selected studies was not possible.

Conclusion: The presence of co-morbid psychological disorders should be considered in the treatment of acne patients and future prospective trials are needed to assess the impact of treatment on psychological outcomes.