Abstract
The full text of this article is freely and openly accessible from the following repository: https://europepmc.org/articles/pmc4584158
Acne is a highly prevalent condition during adolescence and young adulthood worldwide. School and university samples indicate rates between 12% and 99%, depending on how acne was classified. General population surveys report rates between 14% and 88%. Acne remains a problem in adulthood with rates ranging from 20 to 54%. The effects of acne, regardless of severity, can be debilitating. Studies have shown a range of psychosocial and interpersonal impacts including feelings of shame and loneliness, anger, impaired self-image, attitude and esteem, lack of pride and body satisfaction. It can also affect interpersonal relationships including poor attachment to friends, and not having romantic or sexual relationships. Finally, it has been associated with impaired functioning in other life domains, for example, not thriving at school, decreased participation in sport and exercise and employment problems. Although acne has been associated with negative emotion, impaired ability to function in daily life and a decreased quality of life only a small number of cross-sectional studies have reported an association between acne and specific psychological problems, including symptoms of anxiety and depression and suicide ideation when compared to those with little or no acne. However, no study has examined the relationship of acne and with psychiatric disorder (i.e. psychological distress of greatest severity and clinical interest), nor has research ascertained the cumulative lifecourse effects of acne on psychiatric disorder. In the present study, prospective-longitudinal data from a general population sample was used to determine whether acne preceded poor mental health at the disorder level from adolescence to adulthood. The specific aim of this study was to examine the association between acne and the development of the most common psychiatric disorders of anxiety, depression, alcohol and cannabis dependence.