Open Access
PREVALENCE AND ASSOCIATED FACTORS OF ACNE VULGARIS AMONG HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS IN RURAL AND URBAN AREAS OF THAILAND: A CROSS-SECTIONAL STUDY
Author(s) -
Ekamon Niltem,
Pajaree Thitthiwong
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
journal of southeast asian medical research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 2697-5424
DOI - 10.55374/jseamed.v3i1.46
Subject(s) - acne , medicine , cross sectional study , rural area , body mass index , environmental health , odds ratio , affect (linguistics) , demography , dermatology , psychology , pathology , communication , sociology
Background: Acne is the most common skin disorder affecting teenagers. Current knowledge of acne is continuously evolving with particular food especially skim milk, which has been recently recognized as a causative factor while environmental factors have not been clearly investigated.
Objectives: A cross-sectional study was conducted concerning the prevalence of acne among secondary school students living in rural and urban areas of Thailand. Associated risk factors were also evaluated as basic knowledge about acne.
Methods: We developed a questionnaire comprising baseline data, body mass index (BMI) and dietary, sleeping and exercise habits. Acne severity was assessed based on the Investigator’s Global Assessment (IGA).
Results: A total of 526 students completed the questionnaires. Of these, 287 (54.6%) lived in rural areas. In all, 172 (32.7%) students had moderate to severe acne. No statistical significance was found between the proportion of moderate to severe acne and none to mild acne cases among students living in rural areas 94/287 (32.7%) and those living in urban area 78/239 (32.6%) (p =0.977). Being male and high BMI were associated with moderate to severe acne using the adjusted odds ratio (OR) =2.05 (95% CI, 1.38-3.05) and adjusted OR =1.06 (95% CI, 1.01-1.11). Milk consumption did not affect acne severity.
Conclusion: Students residing in urban and rural areas had about equal prevalence of moderate to severe acne. Dietary habits especially milk consumption and living environment had no influence on acne severity.