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. 2025 Feb 8;17(2):e78734.
doi: 10.7759/cureus.78734. eCollection 2025 Feb.

Prevalence of Anxiety and Depression in Pakistani Patients With Acne Vulgaris

Ayesha Jamil  1 , Mariam Sheikh  2 , Mahwash Rana  3 , Sabeen Aftab  4 , Muhammad Atif Qureshi  5 , Osama Habib  6 , Nauman Ismat Butt  7
Affiliations

Prevalence of Anxiety and Depression in Pakistani Patients With Acne Vulgaris

Ayesha Jamil et al. Cureus. .

Abstract

Introduction Adolescents with acne vulgaris, a prevalent dermatological condition, have a significant prevalence of anxiety and depression, which can have negative effects on their quality of life. Objectives The purpose of this study was to find out the prevalence of anxiety and depression in Pakistani patients with acne vulgaris. Methods This six-month cohort study was conducted at Chaudhry Muhammad Akram Teaching and Research Hospital in Lahore, Pakistan, involving 250 acne vulgaris patients (aged 16-40) and 200 age- and sex-matched controls. Exclusion criteria included certain medical and psychological conditions. The Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) and socio-demographic questionnaires were utilized for data collection. The severity of the acne was evaluated with the help of the Global Acne Grading System (GAGS). The final data obtained were analyzed with IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows, Version 27.0 (Released 2020; IBM Corp., Armonk, New York, United States), employing the Kruskal-Wallis test, chi-squared test, and independent t-test. Results Among 450 participants, 302 (67.1%) were female, with a majority aged 23-33 years old. A significant difference in marital status was found, with more acne cases being single (174, 69.6%) compared to controls (107, 53.5%; p<0.001). Most acne cases (154, 61.6%) had moderate severity. The mean anxiety HADS score was higher in the case group (17.62±4.85) compared to controls (6.74±4.40; p=0.027), while depression HADS scores did not significantly differ (p=0.643). Acne severity did not significantly correlate with anxiety or depression HADS scores. Conclusion Increased anxiety in individuals with acne vulgaris, particularly among females, was seen, while depression levels were similar between cases and controls.

Keywords: acne vulgaris; anxiety; depression; gags; socio-demographic factors.

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Conflict of interest statement

Human subjects: Consent for treatment and open access publication was obtained or waived by all participants in this study. Institutional Ethical Review Board of Azra Naheed Medical College issued approval N/A. Animal subjects: All authors have confirmed that this study did not involve animal subjects or tissue. Conflicts of interest: In compliance with the ICMJE uniform disclosure form, all authors declare the following: Payment/services info: All authors have declared that no financial support was received from any organization for the submitted work. Financial relationships: All authors have declared that they have no financial relationships at present or within the previous three years with any organizations that might have an interest in the submitted work. Other relationships: All authors have declared that there are no other relationships or activities that could appear to have influenced the submitted work.

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