Quality of life issues for South Africans with acne vulgaris

The adverse effects of acne on the psyche have been established in patients from 'first world' countries. There has been no in depth study in predominantly black patients from Africa addressing this issue. This was a prospective cross-sectional study of acne patients attending a dermatology unit in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. A questionnaire was completed and acne graded by the Global Acne Grading scale. Psychological morbidity and quality of life (QOL) were assessed by the General Health Questionnaire and Dermatology Specific Quality of Life Questionnaires, respectively. We found that clinical severity was not associated with patient perception or psychological distress. The QOL measures such as feelings, social activities, performance at work or school, activities of daily living and overall mental health were found to be associated with distress with associated P-values of 0.0002, 0.0168, 0.0032, 0.033 and < 0.0001, respectively. The severity of acne was not associated with psychological distress. Painful and bleeding lesions were associated with distress levels: P = 0.042 and P = 0.019, respectively. In conclusion, South African patients with acne vulgaris suffer significant psychological distress, which affects the quality of their lives.