Prevalence and quality of life of secondary school students with acne vulgaris in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Background: Acne vulgaris is one of the most common dermal medical conditions that affect adolescents and young adults. The psychosocial impacts of acne appear in terms of social, vocational, and academic performance. This study aimed to determine the self-reported prevalence of acne and its repercussions on the quality of life of high and secondary school pupils in Riyadh region of Saudi Arabia. Methodology: This cross-sectional study was conducted among secondary and high school students in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The study was conducted among 901 students from different schools in the Riyadh region who were randomly included using a questionnaire distributed online. The Cardiff Acne Disability Index was used to assess the quality of life of acne students. After collecting the data, MS Excel was used for data entry, cleaning, and coding. SPSS version 23 (SPSS Inc, Chicago, IL, USA) was used for data analysis. Results: The prevalence of acne among students was 57.4 %. According to the Cardiff Acne Disability Index, 19.4 % of patients with acne had a high disability, 40.1 % had a moderate disability, and 40.5 % had a low disability. The index score in this study ranged from 0 (16 patients showed a score of zero with a percentage of 3.1%) to 15 (16 patients showed a score of 15 with a percentage of 3.1%) with a mean score of 6.15 (standard deviation=3.79). Conclusion: This study confirmed the results of previous studies that acne causes quality of life disabilities among school-age students. Our study showed a high prevalence of acne among students with a more significant negative impact than previous studies. Keywords: Acne vulgaris, teens, quality of life, Saudi Arabia