Beliefs, perceptions, and treatment modalities of acne among schoolchildren in Lithuania: a cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND: Acne vulgaris is a chronic inflammatory disease that affects the majority of adolescents.

OBJECTIVES: We sought to evaluate children's and adolescents' beliefs, perceptions, sources of information, and modalities of treatment of acne.

METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted in 1277 pupils aged 7-19 years. Children and adolescents were surveyed using a self-administered questionnaire and were subsequently examined by one specially trained dermatologist. Children and adolescents with specialist-confirmed acne were additionally interviewed about their help-seeking behavior and acne treatment.

RESULTS: The rate of response to the study was 51.4%. The overall prevalence of acne among responders was 82.9%. According to the Leeds Revised Acne Grading System, 44.6% of responders had no acne, 49.3% had mild acne, 5.9% had moderate acne, and 0.2% had severe acne. Responders with moderate or severe acne more often knew what acne was than responders with mild acne (odds ratio [OR] 5.6, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.3-24.3; OR 1.9, 95% CI 1.3-2.8, respectively). The three main sources of information about acne were parents (76.3%), magazines (35.5%), and friends (29.3%). The three main causal or exacerbating factors of acne pointed out by responders were poor hygiene (69.0%), hormones (65.3%), and diet (64.5%). Only 7.2% of pupils had been provided with treatment for acne by a dermatologist. The majority of pupils (84.9%) with acne had been using cosmetic remedies to control it.

CONCLUSIONS: Many children and adolescents consider acne to be a skin problem that is caused by lack of hygiene and misuse acne treatment modalities.