PSYCHOSOCIAL CORRELATES OF THE TREATMENT OF PHOTODAMAGED SKIN WITH TOPICAL RETINOIC ACID - A PROSPECTIVE CONTROLLED-STUDY

Background: The psychosocial aspects of the treatment of photodamaged skin have received little attention. Objective: We prospectively exami ned the psychosocial correlates of the treatment of mildly to severely photodamaged skin. Design: Sixty subjects (age, 53.3 +/- 1.3 years [m ean +/- standard error]; 35 receiving retinoic acid and 25 the inactiv e vehicle) completed a battery of psychosocial ratings before starting therapy and after 24 weeks of therapy with retinoic acid or vehicle. Results: Before therapy, the subjects had pathologically high obsessiv e-compulsiveness scores (measured by the Brief Symptom Inventory [BSI] ). From before to after therapy, the retinoic acid group reported decr eased obsessive-compulsiveness (BSI) (p = 0.01), and decreased phobic anxiety (BSI) (p = 0.04), whereas the vehicle group reported an increa se (p < 0.05) in both these symptom dimensions. Conclusion: High obses sive-compulsiveness (BSI), which is associated with excessive perfecti onism and need for control, probably predisposed the subjects to seek treatment of their wrinkles. In the retinoic acid group but not the ve hicle group there was an improvement in obsessive-compulsiveness and d ecreased anxiety in previously anxiety-provoking situations.