Background: Acne can have important psychological repercussions. Objectives: We studied adolescents’ perceptions of acne, in a nonmedical context. Methods: Between November 2004 and January 2005, a questionnaire was presented to adolescents calling a youth helpline. It focused on perceptions of acne and, among callers with personal experience of acne, its severity and treatment. Callers were divided into those with acne, those having had acne and those never having had acne. Results: The questionnaire was completed by 1,566 callers. It showed that 51% of respondents with acne did not seek medical help; acne has as big a psychological impact as some far severer diseases; many respondents with no history of acne said they were very worried that they would develop this skin disorder. Conclusions: This study underlines the major psychological impact of acne. Young people need to be informed that acne can be treated.

Keywords:
Acne treatment, Psychology, Compliance
1.
Stern S: Dermatologists and office-based care of dermatologic disease in the 21st century. J Invest Dermatol Symp Proc 2004;9:126–130.
2.
Gurel MS, Yanik Y, Simsek Z, Kati M, Karaman A: Quality of life instrument for Turkish people with skin diseases. Int J Dermatol 2005;44:933–938.
3.
Koblenzer C: The emotional impact of chronic and disabling disease: a psychoanalytic perspective. Dermatol Clin 2005;23:619–627.
4.
Rapp DA, Brenes GA, Feldman SR, Fleischer AR Jr, Graham GF, Dailey M, et al: Anger and acne: implications for quality of life, patient satisfaction and clinical care. Br J Dermatol 2004;151:183–189.
5.
Tan JKL: Psychosocial impact of acne vulgaris: evaluating the evidence. Skin Ther Lett 2004;9:1–3.
6.
Daniel F, Dréno B, Poli F, Auffret N, Beylot C, Bodokh I, et al: Epidémiologie descriptive de l’acné dans la population scolarisée en France métropolitaine pendant l’automne 1996. Ann Dermatol Vénéréol 2000;127:273–278.
7.
Dréno B, Daniel F, Allaert FA, Aube I: Acne: evolution of the clinical practice and therapeutic management of acne between 1996 and 2000. Eur J Dermatol 2003;13:166–170.
8.
Dréno B, Finlay AY, Nocera T, Verrière F, Taïeb C, Myon E: The Cardiff Acne Disability Index: cultural and linguistic validation in French. Dermatology 2004;208:104–108.
9.
Walker N, Lewis-Jones MS: Quality of life and acne in Scottish adolescent schoolchildren: use of the Children’s Dermatology Life Quality Index (CDLQI) and the Cardiff Acne Disability Index (CADI). J Eur Acad Dermatol Venereol 2006;20:45–50.
10.
Renzi C, Picardi A, Abeni D, Agostini E, Baliva G, Pasquini P, et al: Association of dissatisfaction with care and psychiatric morbidity with poor compliance of treatment compliance. Arch Dermatol 2002;138:337–342.
11.
Zaghloul SS, Cunliffe WJ, Goodfield MJD: Objective assessment of compliance with treatments in acne. Br J Dermatol 2005;152:1015–1021.
12.
Gupta MA, Gupta AK: Psychiatric and psychological co-morbidity in patients with dermatologic disorders: epidemiology and management. Am J Clin Dermatol 2003;4:833–842.
13.
Mallon E, Newton JN, Klassen A, Stewart-Brown SL, Ryan TJ, Finlay AY: The quality of life in acne: a comparison with general medical conditions using generic questionnaires. Br J Dermatol 1999;140:672–676.
14.
Naldi L, Manfrini R, Martin L, Deligant C, Dri P: Feasability of a web-based continuing medical education program in dermatology: the DermoFAD experience in Italy. Dermatology 2006;213:6–11.
© 2007 S. Karger AG, Basel
2007
Copyright / Drug Dosage / Disclaimer
Copyright: All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be translated into other languages, reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, microcopying, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.
Drug Dosage: The authors and the publisher have exerted every effort to ensure that drug selection and dosage set forth in this text are in accord with current recommendations and practice at the time of publication. However, in view of ongoing research, changes in government regulations, and the constant flow of information relating to drug therapy and drug reactions, the reader is urged to check the package insert for each drug for any changes in indications and dosage and for added warnings and precautions. This is particularly important when the recommended agent is a new and/or infrequently employed drug.
Disclaimer: The statements, opinions and data contained in this publication are solely those of the individual authors and contributors and not of the publishers and the editor(s). The appearance of advertisements or/and product references in the publication is not a warranty, endorsement, or approval of the products or services advertised or of their effectiveness, quality or safety. The publisher and the editor(s) disclaim responsibility for any injury to persons or property resulting from any ideas, methods, instructions or products referred to in the content or advertisements.
You do not currently have access to this content.