Epidemiology and perception of acne among Nigerian adolescents: a school-based study (Preprint)

Abstract

Adolescents who are largely affected by acne, hold many misconceptions about it. There is paucity of data on the burden of acne in northern Nigerian adolescents and how they perceive the condition.

The purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence of acne among adolescents in Jos, Nigeria, the accuracy of self-report, and related sociodemographic factors. The study also sought to understand what adolescents perceive as cause of acne and how they regard others with acne

A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among adolescents attending private and public secondary schools in Jos, Nigeria. Four hundred and eighty-two students were recruited through a multi-staged stratified random sampling method. A questionnaire was developed to collect information on occurrence of acne, perceptions of causes and opinions of those who have the condition All participants were examined for presence of acne. Data was analyzed using SPSS version 26. The characteristics of the study sample were described using descriptive, bivariate, and multivariate statistics.

By examination, prevalence of acne was 55% and 44% by self-report. Self-report and examination results showed a moderate degree of agreement (Kappa-57.3% p-0.000). Significant variations existed in acne prevalence being more prevalent in females the males(61% vs. 45.8%, p-0.001), senior classes than junior class(70.7% vs 41.2%), adolescents older than 14 years than younger (66.9% vs 41.7% p-0.001), and those who were overweight compared to normal and underweight (75%, 63.6%, and 40.2% p-0.001) The most frequently cited causes of acne were; eating of groundnuts (11.8%), that it was a natural part of maturation (6.6%), poor hygiene (5.6%) attributed to consuming greasy/fatty foods. The impressions about persons with acne were mostly unfavorable (unattractive, dirty, pitiable, awful, unhealthy, overweight unhappy)

While being prevalent among Nigerian adolescents, many misconceptions surround the etiology of acne vulgaris resulting in aversion to persons affected by the condition. There is thus a need for a targeted awareness program to correct wrong perceptions and prevent possible stigmatization.