DEPRESSION IN ACNE VULGARIS

Acne vulgaris is a chronic inflammatory disorder of pilo-sebaceous glands,which most commonly affect face and trunk. It is most prevalent in adolescent age group. Ithas been seen that acne can have profound social and psychological effects which are notnecessarily related to its clinical severity. Objectives: To determine the frequency and severity ofdepression among acne patients attending the outpatient dermatology department, of a tertiarycare hospital. Study Design: Descriptive study. Place & Duration of Study: Department ofDermatology, Bahawal Victoria Hospital, Bahawalpur from September, 2013 to November, 2013.Subjects & Methods: Informed written consent was taken from patients for the study, seventypatients of acne, diagnosed by consultant dermatologist were inducted. The severity of acnewas determined by Global Acne Grading System. Both genders were included, the age rangewas from 16 to 40 years. Those patients with concomitant dermatological, psychiatric diseasesand those receiving systemic isotretinoin were excluded. The patients fulfilling inclusioncriteria were assessed for depressive symptoms and Hamilton Depression rating scale wasadministered for severity of depression. Results: 70 patients were included in the study, amongthem 14 (20%) were male and 56 (80%) were females. Most of the acne patients were of the age16-20 years [24 (34.3%)]. Mild depression was seen in 26% patients (18%-were females and8%-males). Severe depression was present in 14% of patients, among which 11% were females& 3% were males. Very severe depression was noted in 18% patients among which 16% werefemale and 2% were males. Conclusions: it can be concluded that Dermatologists should paydue attention to the psychological/ mental state of the patient while clinically evaluating andtreating patients suffering from acne vulgaris