Impact of Acne Vulgaris on Quality of Life and Self-esteem
The psychological impact of acne is determined by various factors including age, sex, personality, grade of disease, scarring, and environmental and ethnic background. Apart from managing the clinical manifestations of acne, clinicians also have to deal with the psychological aspects of the disease by assessing patients’ quality of life (QOL) and self-esteem. These measures will aid in better management of acne patients. This study examined the relationship between acne and QOL and self-esteem. The results showed that acne severity may have a considerable adverse impact on QOL and self-esteem. Dermatologists need to emphasize the psychosocial sequelae of acne through awareness programs and encourage medical treatment along with basic psychosomatic remedies in the management of acne.
Practice Points
- Grading of acne will help with appropriate treatment, thus reducing the adverse psychological effects of the condition.
- Acne severity has a negative impact on quality of life and self-esteem.
- A sympathetic approach and basic psychosomatic treatment are necessary in the management of acne.
In the current study, QOL impairment showed a positive correlation with acne severity according to CADI scores; however, there was no significant difference between WHOQOL-BREF score and acne grading, which suggests that QOL impairment does not depend on severity of acne alone. Physical, psychological, social, and environment domains play an important role in impaired QOL. Hence, by using the WHOQOL-BREF we can evaluate the actual domain that is adversely affected by acne and can be treated with a holistic approach. This point must be stressed in the training of medical faculty, as the treatment of acne should not be based on acne severity alone but also on the degree of QOL impairment.19
These results indicate that more data are required and there is a need to consider other variables that could play a role. This study was a hospital-based, cross-sectional study with a small sample group that cannot be generalized, which are limitations. Longitudinal follow-up of the cases before and after treatment was not done. The questionnaires helped us to detect psychosocial aspects but were insufficient to diagnose psychiatric comorbidity.
The strengths of this study include the use of a specific scale for the assessment of self-esteem. The usage of comprehensive (WHOQOL-BREF) and specific (CADI) scales to evaluate QOL has mutual advantage.
,Conclusion
Acne vulgaris is a disease that can adversely affect an individual’s QOL and self-esteem. This study suggested the importance of screening for psychosocial problems in those who present for management of acne. It is important for dermatologists to be cautious about psychological problems in acne patients and be aware of the importance of basic psychosomatic treatment in conjunction with medical treatment in the management of acne.
