Abstract
Background: Acne is a common disease in adolescents, which may result in physical and psychological damage. Objective: This study was carried out to assess the current status and perceptions of adolescents toward acne in Beijing, China. Methods: A total of 858 students aged 12–18 years were asked to complete a self- administered questionnaire to determine their perception of acne prevalence, treatment, and satisfaction of treatment. Results: The prevalence of acne in the sample was 54.7%. Adolescents obtained acne knowledge primarily from their parents (26.5%). 56.9% of adolescents were aware of acne; senior high school students were more aware of acne than junior high school students (p < 0.05). Only 35.2% of adolescents thought that they should go to the hospital for the treatment of acne; 16.8% actually did so, and 46.1% opted for no treatment. Junior high school students ignored treatment more often than did senior high school students (p < 0.05). Only 16.7% of students considered treatment to be effective. Conclusions: High acne prevalence existed in Chinese adolescents, but the number treated and efficacy of treatment were not satisfactory, which may be related to the poor perception of acne among this group.
Highlights
The prevalence of acne varies among different populations in different studies[1,3,8,9], it is very common among teenagers[10,11]
Our community-based study showed that the prevalence of acne among Chinese adolescents is high, which is related to age, but not gender
Most adolescents adopted no treatment or inappropriate treatment, the satisfaction with acne treatments was low, which may be related to poor acne knowledge
Summary
Acne is often misunderstood by lay people, and even the medical community, to be merely part of growing up and a cosmetic problem, while increasing evidence has revealed that acne is not a common dermatologic disease; it can produce a significant psychosocial burden[1,2,3,4,5,6] and be comparable with such disabling maladies as asthma, epilepsy, diabetes, back pain, and arthritis[7]. the prevalence of acne varies among different populations in different studies[1,3,8,9], it is very common among teenagers[10,11]. Adolescence is an important and vulnerable period in most people’s lives, as it is the time of transition from the dependence of childhood to the independence of adulthood, so this group is vulnerable both socially and psychologically. Since they are neither mature psychologically nor knowledgeable about acne, the potential harm of acne to adolescents is significant. We inquired about the current status of acne among adolescents in China, including prevalence, severity, treatment, efficacy of treatment, and psychological impact, and provided data to health providers to decide whether it is necessary to institute acne health education among adolescents. Acne is a common disease in adolescents, which may result in physical and psychological damage
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