Sohail Ahmed, Ijaz Ahmed.
Frequency and magnitude of anxiety and depression among acne patients: a study of 100 cases.
J Liaquat Uni Med Health Sci Jan ;6(1):25-9.

OBJECTIVE: To see the frequency and magnitude of anxiety and depression amongst patients with acne. DESIGN: A cross sectional study. SETTING: Out-patients departments of Psychiatry and Dermatology, Ziauddin Medical University, KDLB Campus, Karachi - Pakistan from 1st June 2005 till 31st August 2005. METHODS: A total of 100 clinically diagnosed cases of acne belonging to both sexes and different age groups, fulfilling the inclusion criteria were enrolled. Only those patients were studied who could complete the Aga Khan University Anxiety and Depression Scale (AKUADS). The “psychiatric scale scores” achieved by “AKUADS”, indicated the probability of anxiety and depression in these patients. All the patients scoring 19 or above were labeled as suffering from anxiety and depression. All the findings were recorded, compiled, tabulated and analyzed. RESULTS: Of the 100 patients studied, there were 35 males (35%) and 65 females (65%). The minimum age of presentation was 14 years and maximum 38, with a mean of 21.4 years. Mild acne was seen in 52%, followed by moderate in 35% and severe acne was a feature in 11%, while 2% cases had acne excoriee. The duration of the disease ranged in between 1 month to 10 years, with a mean of 38 months. Forty two of the patients studied manifested anxiety and depression with a score of or above 19 (AKUADS) accounting for 21% with moderate acne followed by mild acne (12%), severe (7%) and acne excoriee (2%) (P< 0.05). Females accounted for 29% and males 13% of these patients. Patients with acne of recent onset had a mean score of 19, while those with a disease of at least 12 months had mean score 29. The patients with severe disease scored in the range of 24-38, moderate acne 19-26, mild acne 19-23 and acne excoriee 28. CONCLUSION: Acne has a probable association with anxiety and depression. Clinical variables of the disease and sociodemographics influence the magnitude of anxiety and depression in patients with acne.

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