| Summary: | Background/Aim. Acne is well recognized condition that adversely affects
quality of life (QoL) of the patients. The aim of this study was to determine
the self-reported prevalence of acne and its main characteristics in high
school pupils, and to assess their QoL. Methods. The cross-sectional study
conducted in May 2011 comprised 440 pupils from Serbia (281 from Belgrade and
159 from Užice). Participation in the study was voluntary and anonymous. Two
questionnaires were administered: a short demographic questionnaire, and
Children's Dermatology Life Quality Index (CDLQI). Internal consistency was
assessed using the Cronbach’s alpha while item-total score correlations were
assessed using Spearman's correlation analysis. Results. The majority of the
study population (84.3%) were girls, and 15.7% were boys. The total mean age
of the pupils was 16.48 ± 0.55 years. A total of 228 (51.8%) pupils
self-reported their acne with significantly higher prevalence in Užice
(73.6%) than in Belgrade (39.5%). The mean CDLQI score was 3.55 with the
similar quality of life impairment in adolescents from the two cities. The
mean Cronbach’s alpha was 0.83. There was a statistically significant
positive correlation between the mean overall CDLQI score and CDLQI subscale
scores that ranged from 0.401 to 0.841. Conclusion. Our study confirmed that
acne is associated with impairment in QoL that is in accordance with previous
studies performed on teenagers. The CDLQI is a reliable and valid measure,
and can be used as a practical tool for measuring the impact of acne on
patients’ QoL. [Projekat Ministarstva nauke Republike Srbije, br. 175025:
Clinical-epidemiological research of diseases of public health importance in
Serbia]
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