The effect of acne on quality of life, social appearance anxiety, and use of conventional, complementary, and alternative treatments

Abstract

ObjectiveThis study aimed to determine the prevalence of acne among university students and also assess the effects of acne on quality of life, social appearance anxiety, and use of conventional, complementary, and alternative treatment methods. Design and SampleThis cross-sectional study was conducted on 1007 students (98.24 %) of a university located in the Central Anatolian Region of Turkey. MeasurementsThe study used "the CAM Questionnaire" to determine students' CAM use, “the Acne Quality-of-Life Scale” to investigate students’ quality of life and “the Social Appearance Anxiety Scale” to measure their social anxiety, along with a questionnaire that asked about some acne-related characteristics and conventional, complementary, and alternative treatment methods. ResultsThe prevalence rate of acne among the study sample was 65.4 %. The participants’ perceived acne severity and acne’s impacts on their lives were inversely proportional to their quality of life (respectively; r = 0.400; 0.327, for each p < 0.001) and directly proportional to their social appearance anxiety (respectively; r = 0.276; 0.302, for each p < 0.001). Acne distress accounted for 19 % of the change in acne quality-of-life scores (β = 0.186; p < 0.001), which in turn caused 61 % of the change in social appearance anxiety scores (β = 0.615; p < 0.001). ConclusionsThe students whose quality-of-life had deteriorated due to acne had higher social appearance anxiety. Social appearance anxiety had a minor effect on complementary and alternative medicine use, which was affected mainly by acne distress.