Acne stigma lowers quality of life: Study

Many people with acne also suffer from psychological distress due to perceived social stigma around the skin condition, a study has found.

The survey of 271 acne sufferers showed that their own negative perceptions of how society views their appearance is associated with higher psychological distress levels and further physical symptoms such as sleep disturbance, headaches and gastrointestinal problems.

Females in the study reported greater impairment of life quality and more symptoms than males. Acne severity was significantly correlated with health-related quality of life and psychological distress.

Researchers from University of Limerick (UL) in Ireland conducted the study to investigate whether acne sufferers' perceptions of stigmatisation significantly predicts psychological and physical health outcomes; specifically health-related quality of life, psychological distress, and somatic symptoms.

"We know from previous research that many acne sufferers experience negative feelings about their condition, but we have never before been able to draw such a direct link between quality of life and perception of social stigma around acne," said Aisling O'Donnell from UL.

Survey respondents who perceived high levels of acne stigma also reported higher levels of psychological distress, anxiety and depression as well as somatic conditions such as respiratory illness.

"The findings of this study echo previous research showing that individuals with visible physical distinctions, which are viewed negatively by society, can experience impaired psychological and physical well-being as a result," O'Donnell said.

According to PhD student Jamie Davern, a lack of representation of people with acne in popular culture can increase the perceived stigma around the condition.

"Like many physical attributes that are stigmatised, acne is not well represented in popular culture, advertising or social media," said Davern.

"This can lead people with acne to feel that they are 'not normal' and therefore negatively viewed by others," he said.

Online campaigns like #freethepimple and the recent 'acne-positive' movement emerging on social media is an encouraging development for people of all ages that are affected by acne, researchers said.

Although adolescents are most commonly afflicted by acne, the condition has been reported to affect 10.8 per cent of children between the ages of 5-13 years and 12.7 per cent of adults aged over 59.