Prevalence of Acne and Its Psychological Complications in Girl's High Schools

Acne is a common skin disorder, but epidemiological data from the general population in Iran is rare. In this study our purpose was to determine prevalence of acne in girl’s high schools of Mashhad and its relation with some factors as: age at onset of acne, age of menstruation, season, family history of acne, and sites of acne and psychological complications. Our study was a cross sectional epidemiological study which schools and students were chosen randomly and 233 students were studied. The overall prevalence of acne was 78.5% (95% confidence interval, CI 73.5-83.7), 23.5% of them had mild acne, 48.1% showed moderate acne and 28.4% of ones had sever acne. The maximum age of onset of acne was 13-15 years. Family history of acne was in 78.7% of cases and irregular menstruation was in 42.9% of cases. Aggravation of acne was 26.5% with menstruation and 31.7% with change of season (spring and summer). About 66.7% of patients manipulated their acne lesions. The most common psychological complication was shame (48.9%). Only 26.2% of students with acne referred to doctor for treatment and maximum duration of treatment was one month. The results show that acne is a common problem in girl high schools of Mashhad and with regard to its physical and psychological complications and poor acne management, educational programs about acne and its treatment in schools is advised.