Level of adherence to acne treatment and associated factors in patients with acne in Yaoundé, Cameroon (sub-Saharan Africa)

Abstract

Background: Acne is a chronic inflammatory disease of the pilosebaceous follicle. The aim of this study was to assess the level of adherence to acne treatment and to identify factors associated with adherence to therapy in patients with acne. Materials and Methods: This was a descriptive, analytical, cross-sectional study conducted from January to April 2017 in three hospitals in Yaoundé. We included patients followed for acne for at least one month. The sampling was consecutive and exhaustive. Adherence to treatment was assessed according to the Morisky score. Data was analyzed with Microsoft Excel 2013 and the SPSS software, version 23. We employed the ANOVA test to find associations between the different variables. p values below 0.05 were considered statistically significant. Results: A total of 113 patients were selected, with a mean age of 26.0 ? 6.4 years. The mean Morisky score was 5.6 ? 1.9. Adherence to treatment was low, medium, and high in 58 (51%), 31 (28%), and 24 (21%) patients, respectively. The factors associated with low adherence were the presence of relapses, a psychological history, the number of previous treatments above two, and the duration of treatment above three months. Conclusion: Adherence to acne treatment was low in over half of the patients. In our context, the presence of relapse, a psychological history, the number of previous treatments above two, and the duration of treatment above three months were associated with low adherence to therapy.