The Incidence of Depression and the Decrease of Quality of Life in Patients with Moderate-Severe Inflammatory Acne

Abstract

Abstract Objective: to know the prevalence of depression in patients with moderate-severe acne vulgaris. Hypothesis: the incidence of depression increases in patients with moderate-severe acne vulgaris and will therefore decrease the quality of life. Background: acne is a very frequent dermatosis in the outpatient clinic, it is not considered a life-threatening disease. It has been associated with negative emotional status. Also, suffering from it for a long time has been associated with depression, anxiety and frustration. The complications of acne in the psychosocial aspect are related to academic or vocational performance, self-esteem and adolescents’ quality of life. Materials and Methods: the type of study was retrospective cross-sectional descriptive observational study. The sampling was carried out at the facilities of the Popular Autonomous University of the State of Puebla, taking into account any person within the institutional organisation within the range of 12-20 years of age, with a total of 50 participants. The Hamilton assessment scale of depression and the Cardiff Acne disability index were applied to all patients with dermatological diagnosis of moderate-severe vulgar acne in a period between February-October 2019. Results: a total of 50patients were analysed, of which 28 were women aged 12 to 20 years and 22 men (28 women and 13 men) and severe acne in 9 patients, all over 17 years of age and male. According to the degree of depression, 28% (n = 14) of the patients were obtained without some degree of depression; 60% (n = 30) with minor depression; 12% (n = 6) with moderate depression. Regarding the quality of life: 40% (n = 20) of the patients showed good quality of life, 46% (n = 23) regular quality of life and 14% (n = 7) showed poor quality of life. Conclusion: orderly study of the psychic impact of acne and other skin diseases on people suffering them is recent and is carried out through questionnaires that try to measure the impact the diseases have on the patients’ quality of life.