الفهرس 
IntroductionOnly 14 pages are availabe for public view
 |  | from | 103 |  |  |
| | | from | 103 | | |
Abstract
Acne vulgaris is a common chronic skin disease involving blockage and/or inflammation of pilosebaceous units (hair follicles and their accompanying sebaceous gland), frequently among adolescents, irrespective of social, gender, residence, or economic status.
Across-sectional study was conducted on 373 Egyptian patient with acne vulgaris in Menoufia city from June 2021 to December 2021 to look at the perception, knowledge and beliefs of youth with acne.
An oral consent was obtained from all participants and the study protocol was approved by local Ethical Committee of Faculty of Medicine, Menoufia University.
The participants were selected by systematic random sampling technique. All participants aged 10-25 years of either sex completed the questionnaire during outpatient clinic time in a single visit.
Age <10 years or >25 years, psychic patients, occupational acne, patient with skin infection, pregnant female, patients have endocrinal disorder causing acne as (polycystic ovary disease, Cushing syndrome, CAH, androgen-secreting tumors, and acromegaly) and patients taking topical or systemic steroids were excluded from our study.
Summary
71
Our results revealed that:
More than half of the patients aged 15-20 years of age, females were more than males, majority of them were students, had acne for more than 12 months and had moderate severity.
Regarding the thought about the nature of acne, the majority of patients thought that it was due to puberty, some of them thought that it was a disease or inherited from parents. Additionally, few patients didn’t know the nature of acne.
Pollution, squeezing spot, and stress were the top three factors that worsen acne as reported by participants. More than two-thirds of participants believed that consumption of chocolate and snacks, consumption of fatty meals, sweating and makeup were among causes or worsening factors for acne and more half of participants considered menstruation worsen acne.
On the other side, frequent washing, physical activity, and consumption of dairy products were the most three reasons that improved acne. In addition, lack of sleep and frequent washing had no effect on acne as reported by some participants. Furthermore, some participants didn’t know the factors that influenced acne.
Concerning acne treatment, almost of participants had personal hygiene products, topical products prescribed by doctor and healthy lifestyle. Less than half of patients had topical ointments provided by pharmacist, systemic drugs prescribed by doctor and disinfectants. A small percentage of the participants had gone to psychologist.
Regarding treatment period before clearance, the majority of patients received treatment for less than 3 months and the minority for more than 12 months.
Summary
72
As regard the psychosocial effect of acne, the most marked negative effect was in self-confidence, occupation, followed by relationship with partner and relationship with friends.
On the other hand, some of them reported that there was no effect with relationship with their partner, occupation, relationship with friends or with self-confidence.
Acne complications that reported by participants were scarring and post inflammatory hyperpigmentation. Furthermore, low number of patients didn’t know the complications of acne.
The most frequent source of information about acne was the internet and social media, followed by dermatologist, while, GP and television were the lower sources of information about acne.