1. Evaluation of Psychological Wellbeing and Social Impact of Combined Facial and Truncal Acne: a Multi-national, Mixed-Methods Study
- Author
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Jerry, Tan, Stefan, Beissert, Fran, Cook-Bolden, Rajeev, Chavda, Julie, Harper, Adelaide, Hebert, Edward, Lain, Alison, Layton, Marco, Rocha, Jonathan, Weiss, Brigitte, Dréno, Pecqueret, Valérie, Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Western Ontario (UWO), University Hospital Carl Gustav Carus [Dresden, Germany], Technische Universität Dresden = Dresden University of Technology (TU Dresden), Mount Sinai School of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry-Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai [New York] (MSSM), Galderma SA [Zug, Switzerland] (G-SA), The Dermatology and Skin Care Center of Birmingham [Vestavia Hills, AL, USA] (DS2CB), The University of Texas Medical School at Houston, Austin Institute for Clinical Research [Pflugerville, TX, USA] (AICR ), Hull York Medical School [York, UK] (HYMS), University of York [York, UK], Federal University of Sao Paulo (Unifesp), Georgia Dermatology Partners - Snellville [Snellville, GA, USA] (GDP-S), Unité de Thérapie Cellulaire et Génique [CHU Nantes] (UTCG), Hôtel-Dieu-Centre hospitalier universitaire de Nantes (CHU Nantes), and Centre hospitalier universitaire de Nantes (CHU Nantes)
- Subjects
Quality of life ,[SDV] Life Sciences [q-bio] ,Mixed method ,Truncal acne ,Quantitative survey ,[SDV]Life Sciences [q-bio] ,Qualitative survey ,Facial acne ,Dermatology - Abstract
International audience; Introduction: Half of the individuals with facial acne develop truncal acne, but the impact of combined facial and truncal acne (CA) on patients' quality of life is poorly researched.Methods: A 60-min interview of 30 participants with CA was conducted that formed the basis for a cross-sectional survey of 694 adolescents and adults with CA.Results: The main themes identified from the qualitative interviews among CA subjects included acceptability to self and others, social functioning and emotional wellbeing. Feelings of embarrassment, self-consciousness and low confidence were experienced often or all the time by over 50% of participants, and were more frequent in those who perceived their acne to be out of control (P = 0.003). Half of patients reported feeling stigmatised because of their CA, and 65.4% believed that others associated their truncal acne with unhealthy or unhygienic habits. Perceived stigma was associated with more feelings of embarrassment (P = 0.005), self-consciousness (P = 0.034) and low self-confidence (P = 0.017). Overall, 64% participants reported that CA interfered with daily life, 46.4% often or always avoided social interaction, 48.6% were often concerned about talking to unfamiliar people and 47.4% were uncomfortable showing affection. Further, 32% and 24.4% participants ≥ 16 years old avoided dating or having romantic/intimate relationships because of their facial and truncal acne, respectively. Social and leisure activities were more frequently negatively impacted among those with perceived uncontrolled CA than among those with controlled CA. Avoiding undressing in front of spouse/partner/friends/relatives was more commonly reported by participants with perceived uncontrolled truncal acne than by those with controlled truncal acne (90.5% versus 80.6%, P = 0.031).Conclusion: CA is associated with considerable psychological morbidity, with several exacerbating (e.g. perceived stigma) and attenuating factors (e.g. acne being perceived as being under control) that should be accounted for in CA management.
- Published
- 2022
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