Psychological impairments in the patients with acne

Abstract

Background: The psychological impacts of acne appearance and its-related negative emotional reactions have been proved; however, these reactions are varied in different populations.

Aim: We investigated whether acne and its severity affected psychological functioning in those who suffered from this disorder among Iranians.

Materials and methods: One hundred and six patients with acne vulgaris who consecutively attended the dermatology outpatient clinics in Semnan city in 2008 were included. Among them, 103 patients met the study's inclusion criterion and agreed to participate. One hundred and six age and gender cross-matched healthy volunteers were included as controls that attended the clinic with their diseased relatives. All acne patients were evaluated using the Symptom Check List-90 (SCL-90).

Results: According to the American Academy of Dermatology classification, 25.2% of the patients had mild acne, 50.5% moderate acne, and 24.3% severe acne. A higher percentage of participants than controls required further evaluation and psychological consultant when studying each psychological problem. The most common psychological symptoms requiring treatment due to disturbed daily activities in acne group were psychoticism (34.0%) and depression (31.1%), respectively. Significant positive correlations were observed between the duration of illness and SCL-90 total score. When evaluating the SCL-90 scores, patients with multiple sites of involvement were affected more severely than those with a single site of involvement.

Conclusion: Acne vulgaris has significant effects on psychological status. Effective concomitant anti-acne therapy and psychological assessment make significant contributions for the mental health and should be strongly recommended.

Keywords: Acne; prevalence; psychodermatology.