Assessment of Prevalence, Knowledge, Attitude, and Psychosocial Impact of Acne Vulgaris among Medical Students in Saudi Arabia

Abstract

Objective: To evaluate the prevalence of acne vulgaris among medical students in Saudi Arabia and to assess their knowledge and attitudes about it, as well as the psychosocial impact of acne. Methods: Data was collected from 555 medical students, both males and females, in Saudi Arabia. A cross sectional design was used. Questionnaires were used to collect data. Results: Of the participants 49.5% were male and 50.5% female. More than half of the participants (66.7%) were between 18 and 20 years old. The majority were single (91.4%). The geographical areas where they lived included the north (30.3%), south (13.3 %), central (9.4%), east (17.3%), and west (19.1). About two thirds were in the fourth year of medical school or less. Among the participating medical student, 55% had acne. The most common site affected was the face, and the least affected was the chest. More than half of medical students in the study sample used medical lotions to treat acne (57.0%), with only one third using medication (33.1%). Perceived adverse psychological effects were self-reported by 202 students, 72.1% of the 305 with acne. Most (91.4%) identified hormones as the most important aggravating factor. Other aggravating factors believed by students included change in stress (86.1%), dust and heat (84.9%), cosmetics (69.2%), and lack of care skin and diet (66.8%). Gender were significantly related to the level of knowledge score, with the majority of male students (62.5%) having poor knowledge about acne while 50.9% of the female students had good knowledge. Age, social status, living area, and study year were not significantly associated with knowledge level of participants. Conclusion: Results of this study point out that lack of knowledge about acne is widespread among Saudi medical students, and patients with acne had poor practice and unfavorable attitude.