Acne in adolescents: quality of life, self-esteem, mood, and psychological disorders.

INTRODUCTION

Acne is a significant adolescent problem and may precipitate emotional and psychological effects. The impact of acne on psychological parameters and implications for acne treatment are not fully understood.

METHODS

We performed a MEDLINE search using the terms "acne" and "adolescent" along with "psychological," "depression," or "psychiatric," which yielded 16 reviewed studies.

RESULTS

Qualitative review of the selected articles revealed that the presence of acne has a significant impact on self-esteem and quality of life. Depression and other psychological disorders are more prevalent in acne patients and acne treatment may improve symptoms of these disorders.

LIMITATIONS: The reviewed studies were semi-quantitative analyses utilizing various standardized surveys or questionnaires. Therefore, quantitative analysis of selected studies was not possible.

CONCLUSION

The presence of co-morbid psychological disorders should be considered in the treatment of acne patients and future prospective trials are needed to assess the impact of treatment on psychological outcomes.