Itch prevalence analysis and its characteristics among acne patients

Introduction. Acne is a multifactorial chronic inflammatory disease of the pilosebaceous follicle, which manifests itself as open and closed comedones, papules, pustules and nodules. Purpose of the study. Studying of itch prevalence among patients with acne, as well as assessing its impact on their quality of life and psychoemotional status. Materials and methods. Under observation were 249 patients diagnosed with acne aged from 12 to 50 years, of which 143 women (57.4%), 106 men (42.6%). Patients were diagnosed based on complaints, anamnesis and clinical picture of the disease. To assess the impact of itching on the quality of life, the Acne Psychological and Social Effect Scale (APSEA), the Dermatological Life Quality Index (DLQI), the Cardiff Social Disadaptation Index (CADI), the Rosenberg self-esteem scale, and a self-developed questionnaire were used to assess the impact of itching on the quality of life. Questionnaire, YOUR itch. Results. To solve these problems, based on the criteria for inclusion, non-inclusion and exclusion, two clinical comparison groups were formed, comparable in terms of main clinical diagnostic indicators. The first group consisted of patients with itching due to acne (64 people, 26% of subjects), the second group consisted of patients with no itching (185 people, 74% of subjects). According to the results of the study, a statistically significant relationship between the presence of itching in acne and age, gender, the presence of obesity, impaired carbohydrate tolerance, iron deficiency anemia, hyperprolactinemia was revealed, various characteristics of itching in the subjects were described, and a close correlation of the indicators of the indices used was revealed. Conclusions. Studying the prevalence of itching in acne is a relevant area and allows us to expand our understanding of the role of subjective sensations in the development of acne and further evaluate the impact of this dermatosis on the quality of life of patients.