Anxiety, depression, and nature of acne vulgaris in adolescents

Background The reported prevalence of acne in adolescence is variable; impr oved treatment may have modified its prevalence and severity; acne has been related to psychiatric morbidity for many years. Methods Two thousand six hundred and fifty-seven high school students were examined, and adolescents with acne were interviewed about the subject of a cne vulgaris. The severity of acne was graded using the Global Acne Grading System (GAGS). The Hospital Anxiety and Depression (HAD) scale was evaluat ed for one of every two subjects with acne (n = 308) and for the same numbe r of sex-matched control subjects (n = 308) to determine the prevalence of depression and anxiety. Results Six hundred and fifteen of the subjects (23.1%) were determined to have acne. Acne prevalence in girls and boys was 16.1% and 29.2%, respectiv ely (P < 0.001). Two hundred and twenty-five (15.8%) of 1424 boys and only 109 (8.8%) of 1233 girls had moderate or severe/very severe acne (P < 0.001 ), but the GAGS scores in the groups of boys and girls with acne were not s ignificantly different. The acne and control groups showed no significant d ifferences in the HAD anxiety and depression subscale scores. The HAD anxie ty subscale scores of girls were significantly higher than those of boys in the acne group. The severity of acne was not correlated with the HAD anxie ty or depression subscale scores. Conclusions Acne results in higher anxiety in adolescent girls. Although ac ne and moderate/severe acne are more common in adolescent boys, the severit y of acne was found to be similar in boys and girls with acne. Adolescent g irls are more vulnerable than boys to the negative psychological effects of acne.