Pattern of acne vulgaris in women, attending in a tertiary care hospital

Abstract

A cross-sectional study was carried out for a period of one year in the outpatient department of Dermatology and Venereology, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU), Dhaka, Bangladesh. Seventy female patients having acne vulgaris were selected. The study showed that the mean age of the cases was 22.43 with standard deviation 5.2 years and highest percentage of patients were in the age group 20-24 years (41.4%), highest percentage of patients was unmarried among the cases (74.3%) and proportion of secondary (35.7%) and higher secondary education (20%) were found to be high among the cases. The study showed that proportion of student (65.7%) and housewife (17.1%) were found to be high among the cases. The mean duration of disease was 62.6 months and all the patients had presented with comedones (blackheads and whiteheads). All the patients had acne in the face and it was found that 60% had moderate type acne. Considering the pattern of treatment received, 42.9% of the patients mentioned that they used topical ointment, 37.1% had received herbal medication and 25.7% had received systemic medication. To get an overall impression of the country regarding acne vulgaris, more integrated study is needed. This was a study on a limited number of cases. Future studies must include economical support, then large sample size could be ensured and study finding would be more reliable. There is a great need of epidemiological studies also, with sufficient follow-up, systematic reviews and meta-analyses on this issue. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/jdnmch.v18i1.12234 J. Dhaka National Med. Coll. Hos. 2012; 18 (01): 18-23