Acne is a common disease especially among teenagers. It has a considerable psychological impact on affected individuals. The aim of this paper was to assess if the effect of acne on acne-related quality of life is correlated to acne clinical severity. 112 university female students attending the university medical clinics with acne complaints were examined. Cardiff Acne Disability Index (CADI) was used to assess acne-related quality of life, and global acne grading system (GAGS) was used to assess clinical severity of acne. There was no correlation between acne severity (GAGS scoring system) and quality of life impairment as assessed by CADI score (
Acne vulgaris is a common disease with prevalence reaching up to 80% during adolescence [
Additionally, mental health scores were reported to be worse for asthma, epilepsy, diabetes, back pain, arthritis, and coronary artery disease [
In this paper the acne-related disability was studied in relation to acne severity in female university students suffering from acne.
Female students attending King Abdulaziz university medical administration dermatology clinic (female section) with acne complaints.
A medical history was taken in addition to the acne-related complaint. An assessment of acne was made using the global acne grading system or GAGS [
The Cardiff Acne Disability Index (CADI) was completed by the physician [
The statistical analysis was performed using the SPSS software version 10.0. Spearman Rank Correlation test was used for correlation between the variables.
One hundred and twelve cases were examined. Age ranged from 18 to 40 years (median 24 years). Disease duration ranged from 1 month to 20 years (median 5 years). Seventeen (15% of the total cases) did not use any treatment for acne previously. Roaccutane was used previously by 8 (7% of the total cases). CADI score ranged from 1 to 15. GAGS ranged from 8 to 37. Most cases (82) were classified as mild acne (73.2% of cases), 28 were classified as moderate severity (25% of cases), 2 were classified as severe acne (1.8% of cases), and no cases were classified as very severe (see Table
GAGS (global acne grading system) score distribution.
Grade of acne severity | GAGS score | Number of cases |
---|---|---|
Mild | 1–18 | 82 |
Moderate | 19–30 | 28 |
Severe | 31–38 | 2 |
Very severe | >38 | 0 |
Total | 112 |
There was no correlation between CADI score and GAGS acne severity score (
Distribution of cases according to GAGS acne severity score and CADI disability index score.
Acne has a considerable psychological impact on affected individuals [
Different methods exist for assessing acne severity. At least 25 methods were described [
CADI was found not to correlate with acne severity as assessed by GAGS. A recent study showed similar result in Hong Kong, which found no correlation between GAGS acne severity score and CADI score [
In this paper, age and disease duration did not correlate with quality of life as well. Consequently, it has been found in our study that the quality of life in acne patients can be affected by reasons other than acne severity. The reasons can be social, emotional, personality type, presence of scarring and school-, or job-related problems.
We therefore conclude that acne clinical severity alone does not affect quality of life. Many other factors might play a role. Each patient should be treated individually taking into consideration that mild disease does not mean little effect on quality of life.