Factors associated with self-esteem in patients with acne vulgaris

Purpose: Patients with acne vulgaris often face psychosocial problems. This study aims to explore the effects of acne vugaris on self-esteem. Method The population of the study includes 50 patients with acne vulgaris and 50 healthy individuals as a control group. Following the assessment of the clinical severity of acne by a dermatologist using Global Acne Grading System (GADS) as light, mild, severe, and a short psychiatric interview with each patient, patients were evaluated using socio-demographic data sheet, Rosenberg's Self-Esteem Scale (RSES), Body-Image Perception Scale (BIPS), Acne-specific Quality of Life Questionnaire (Acne-QoL), Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale (LSAS), and Exaggeration of Physical Sensations Scale (EPSS). LSAS was completed by a psychiatrist as part of the psychiatric interview while all the other scales were self-reported. Except Acne-QoL, all the other scales were reported by the healthy control group and the control group was also interviewed by the psychiatrist briefly in order for the LSAS to be scored. Findings: No significant differences were identified for any mental illness between the patients with acne vulgaris and those who were in the control group in terms of age, gender, background and social background. The comparison of scale scores between patient and control groups showed that patient group scored higher than the control group for any scale other than the body-image perception. No statistically significant differences were found when the scale scores were compared with the gender, acne severity, area and duration of the lesion. Conclusion: The results of the study showed that patients with acne had higher levels of depression, anxiety, social anxiety, physical symptom intensity and self-esteem when compared to the control group. No significant differences were found between gender, acne severity, area and duration of the lesion. It was found that quality of life was further declined with the increasing acne severity.