Psychosocial impact of acne on quality of life in North India: A hospital-based cross-sectional study

Abstract

Objective To evaluate the level of impact among acne patients on their quality of lifestyle and emotional well-being and to highlight the wider spectrum of problems that the patients face with acne.Methods A total of 125 patients were enrolled for the study. Acne severity was graded using Global Acne Grading System (GAGS) after the clinical diagnosis. All the patients went through self-administered questionnaire of Cardiff Acne Disability Index (CADI) to fill out, to assess the reflection of patients’ experiences and perceptions.Results Out of 125 patients, 72 (57.6%) were females and 53 (42.4%) were males. The age ranged from 14 to 38 years. The maximum number of patients was in the age group of 14-20 years (90/125, 72%). Out of total 53 males, 33 (62.3%) had moderate to severe acne, whereas 58.3% females had such a severe acne. 47.2% (34/72) of females had high CADI scores in comparison to only 30.2% (16/53) of males. The impact on quality of life was more in the age-group of 21-30 years even though in this age group clinical severity of acne was mild to moderate only. According to duration of acne, patients having longer history of acne (>1 year) had highest CADI scores. There was significant correlation between severity of acne and CADI. Conclusion We found compelling evidence that individuals with acne had profound emotional, as well as, social impact on their quality of life. Greater efforts are needed to improve physician-patient communication while consultation, and provide more information to the patients. Patients should be managed rather than treated.