Quality of life issues for South Africans with acne vulgaris
Abstract
The adverse effects of acne on the psyche have been established in patients from 'first world' countries. There has been no in depth study in predominantly black patients from Africa addressing this issue. This was a prospective cross-sectional study of acne patients attending a dermatology unit in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. A questionnaire was completed and acne graded by the Global Acne Grading scale. Psychological morbidity and quality of life (QOL) were assessed by the General Health Questionnaire and Dermatology Specific Quality of Life Questionnaires, respectively. We found that clinical severity was not associated with patient perception or psychological distress. The QOL measures such as feelings, social activities, performance at work or school, activities of daily living and overall mental health were found to be associated with distress with associated P-values of 0.0002, 0.0168, 0.0032, 0.033 and < 0.0001, respectively. The severity of acne was not associated with psychological distress. Painful and bleeding lesions were associated with distress levels; P = 0.042 and P = 0.019, respectively. In conclusion, South African patients with acne vulgaris suffer significant psychological distress, which affects the quality of their lives.
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Clinical severity of acne has not been shown to correlate with the patient's perception of its severity.
“Clinical severity of acne, for example, has not been shown to correlate with the patient’s perception of its severity.”
From Global Burden of Skin Disease: Inequities and Innovations (2017) · cites this paper as [16]
Clinical severity measured by clinicians using formal grading scales does not always correlate with patients' perceptions of severity, and the discrepancy appears disease-specific.
“clinical severity, as measured by clinicians using formal grading scales, does not always correlate with patients’ perceptions of their condition’s severity. The discrepancy appears to be disease-specific.”
From Global Burden of Skin Disease: Inequities and Innovations (2017) · cites this paper as [16]
Clinical severity of psoriasis correlates more to patient perception due to the presence of comorbid psoriatic arthritis.
“The clinical severity of psoriasis correlates more to patient perception due to the presence of comorbid psoriatic arthritis”
From Global Burden of Skin Disease: Inequities and Innovations (2017) · cites this paper as [16]
Clinical severity has not been uniformly associated with decreased quality of life.
“clinical severity has not been uniformly associated with decreased QoL”
From Global Burden of Skin Disease: Inequities and Innovations (2017) · cites this paper as [16]
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Global Burden of Skin Disease: Inequities and Innovations
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- Authors
- Mosam, A., Vawda, N. B., Gordhan, A. H., Nkwanyana, N., & Aboobaker, J.
- Affiliations
- University of KwaZulu-Natal (ZA)
- South African Medical Research Council (ZA)
- Corresponding author
- Mosam, A.
- Venue
- Clinical and Experimental Dermatology
- Publisher
- Oxford University Press (OUP)
- Published
- 2005-01
- Volume
- 30
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 6-9
- ISSN
- 0307-6938 (ISSN-L)
- 1365-2230
- OpenAlex
- W2160080621
- Cited by
- 57
- References
- 16
- Citations by year
- 2026: 1 · 2024: 2 · 2023: 3 · 2022: 12 · 2021: 1 · 2020: 3 · 2019: 2 · 2018: 1 · 2017: 4 · 2016: 2 · 2015: 2 · 2014: 3 · 2013: 1 · 2012: 3
- FWCI
- 3.81
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Clinical and Experimental Dermatology (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Nelson Mandela University Research Repository (submittedVersion)
- Digest of the World Core Medical Journals
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Dermatology › Acne and Rosacea Treatments and Effects
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Body Image and Dysmorphia Studies
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Dermatology › Dermatology and Skin Diseases
- Keywords
- acne, quality of life, psychological distress, Black patients, acne severity, social functioning, mental health, South Africa
- MeSH terms
- Acne Vulgaris, Adolescent, Adult, Anxiety, Child, Cross-Sectional Studies, Depressive Disorder, Female, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, Pain, Prospective Studies, Quality of Life, Surveys and Questionnaires, Severity of Illness Index, South Africa, Stress, Psychological, Black People
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