Acne vulgaris and well-being in medical students

BACKGROUND - Psychiatric comorbidity is observed in 40% of adult dermatological patients. Acne vulgaris, in particular, is in the interest of psychodermatology because of its psychological and social stigmas. OBJECTIVE - To establish the relation between acne and the state of well-being. METHODS - This consisted of a case-control study with data collected from the World Health Organization Well-being Index, through interviews with two groups of 50 medical students, one with and other without acne. RESULTS - It was verified that 26% of the students from the case group and 24% from the control group presented from 0 to 4 points in at least one item. CONCLUSIONS - Although the majority of the patients presented attitudes and feelings related to acne, a statistically significant association between this dermatosis and low level of well-being was not demonstrated.