Ann Dermatol.  2019 Aug;31(4):372-377. 10.5021/ad.2019.31.4.372.

Anxiety Sensitivity and Quality of Life in Patients with Acne

• Acer E
• Altınoz A
• Erdogan HK
• Agaoglu E
• Yuksel Canakcı N
• Saracoglu

• KMID: 2451473
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.5021/ad.2019.31.4.372

Abstract

BACKGROUND
Anxiety sensitivity (AS) is a continuous fundamental fear and defined as extreme fear of anxiety sensations and symptoms. High AS can cause tendency to anxiety disorders. There are many studies evaluating the anxiety in patients with acne; however, AS has not been investigated.
OBJECTIVE
We aimed to investigate AS in patients with acne.
METHODS
Two hundred and fourteen acne patients and 117 healthy control subjects, aged older than 16 years were enrolled in the study. Severity of acne was evaluated by Global Acne Grading System. The acne patients and healthy controls were asked to complete the anxiety sensitivity index-3 (ASI-3), the Beck anxiety inventory (BAI) and the Turkish version of acne quality of life index.
RESULTS
Anxiety and AS levels in acne patients were significantly higher than healthy controls (p<0.001). Quality of life was impaired in acne patients. Quality of life was negatively correlated with anxiety and AS levels in acne patients (p=0.014, p=0.019, respectively). There was no correlation between quality of life and disease severity (p=0.556) and also there was no correlation between psychiatric scale scores (ASI-3, BAI) and disease severity (p=0.147, p=0.871, respectively).
CONCLUSION
To our knowledge, our study is the first to report that AS is high in acne patients. Clinically, our results suggest that there might be a relationship between AS and acne. We conclude that further studies are needed in order to clarify the relationship between acne and AS and to investigate the efficacy of cognitive behavioral treatments in acne patients.

Keyword

Acne vulgaris; Anxiety; Anxiety sensitivity; Cognitive therapy; Quality of life

MeSH Terms

Acne Vulgaris*
Anxiety Disorders
Anxiety*
Cognitive Therapy
Humans
Quality of Life*
Sensation

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