The Psychological Correlates of Treatment Efficacy in Acne

Abstract

Background: Acne is a common disfiguring skin condition that affects approximately 15% of the people in the UK. This study investigates the psychological and emotional impact of acne. Material and Methods: The study was conducted at the dermatology out-patient department of the Stirling Royal Infirmary in Stirling and at the dermatology out-patient department of Falkirk Royal Infirmary in Falkirk (Scotland). Patients were assessed pre-treatment, post-treatment (5 months) and follow-up (8 months). Clinical severity was assessed by a dermatologist at all three assessment time-points using the Leeds Acne Severity Grading Technique. The psychological well-being of acne patients was assessed using the following self-report psychological test measures: The Skindex, the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), the Rosenberg Self-esteem Scale, and the Positive and Negative Affectivity Scales (PANAS). Patients were also asked to self-rate the severity of their skin disease. 34 acne patients completed all 3 assessments. Results: Results demonstrate that the clinical grade of acne improved significantly over treatment time, and at follow-up assessment. This indicates that the treatment prescribed by the dermatologists was generally effective, and that this improvement in the clinical severity of acne was maintained at the 8-month follow-up assessment, even though medical intervention had ceased. There was also evidence of moderate psychological distress pre-treatment, based on the psychological test measures employed. Treatment outcome results obtained from acne patients showed that there was a significant improvement over treatment time on how patients self-rated their self-esteem and positive affectivity, and a significant decrease on how patients selfrated their anxiety, depression, negative affectivity and Skindex scores. Conclusion: In conclusion this study has demonstrated that the psychological profile exhibited by acne patients pretreatment may be largely reversed over treatment time, and that this psychological improvement is generally maintained at follow-up assessment.

High Frequency of Fibromyalgia in Patients With Acne Vulgaris

“…15 Previous studies have reported that patients with acne vulgaris have increased frequency and severity of anxiety. 16,17 These data correlate with our results. In our current study, patients with acne vulgaris had higher frequency and severity of anxiety than controls.…”

Retinoids Reduce Formation of Keratin Aggregates in Heat-stressed Immortalized Keratinocytes from an Epidermolytic Ichthyosis Patient with a KRT10 Mutation*

“…Finally, the patient satisfaction questionnaire showed that the participants were very happy with the treatment process; these results are similar to those of Grahame et al (40), who studied patients diagnosed with acne who had a high degree of emotional discomfort and a poor QoL. Results showed that oral isotretinoin treatment had a positive effect on their condition.…”

Alexithymia and Acne Vulgaris: A Case Control Study

“…Perhaps the most striking result of our study was the high alexithymia and intermediate alexithymia rates in individuals between 15-25 years of age (23.8% and 30.7%, respectively) with or without acne. The prevalence of alexithymia has been found to be 10-13% in general population samples 34. Montreuil et al35 reported the rate of alexithymia in their study with 773 students, as 6.8%.…”