Association of Depressive and Anxiety Symptoms with Skin Picking Behaviour in Patients with Acne Vulgaris and Rosacea

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Description

Skin picking disorder is triggered by negative emotions or skin conditions like acne. The aim of the study was to determine the prevalence of skin picking behavior in an outpatient population of acne and rosacea patients and associated symptoms of depression and anxiety.. A study was conducted during the period from October 2022 to January 2023 in Clinical Centre of Skin and Sexually Transmitted Diseases, Riga 1st Hospital outpatient department. All respondents at the onset of study were adults and had acne vulgaris or papulopustular form of rosacea. Evaluations included self–report questionaries for skin picking (Skin picking scale – revised (SPC-R)), depression (Patient Health Questionnaire–9 (PHQ-9)), anxiety (General Anxiety Disorder–7 (GAD-7)) and social demographic data.. The final study sample included 30 respondents: 10 males (33.3%) and 20 females (66.7%), mean age was 31.6 (SD 11.03). The point prevalence of skin picking among the patients was 50.0% (95% CI 31.3-68.7). Clinically significant depressive symptoms were diagnosed in 23.3% (n=7) respondents (95% CI 9.9-42.3), but without significant difference among respondents with and without skin picking (p=0.19). In 56.7 % (n=17) of respondents (CI 37.4-74.5%) at least mild clinically relevant anxiety were found, and 13.3 % (n=4) suffered from the severe anxiety. Among all skin picking sufferers 66.7% (n=10/15) had an anxiety, but without significant difference among respondents with and without skin picking (p=0.23). Negligible degree of positive correlation (r=+0.06) was found between the SPS-R and GAD-7 score (p=0.76); and between SPS-R and PHQ-9 results (r=+0.09).. Study indicates that skin picking behavior occurs in 15 (50%) of acne and rosacea patients and two thirds of them suffers from anxiety. It may worsen underlaying skin condition, cause scars and impact mental health. The further research is needed that includes larger sample sizes to obtain more reliable results with greater precision and power.
Period29 Mar 2023
Event titleRSU International Research Conference 2023: Knowledge for Use in Practice
Event typeConference
OrganiserRīga Stradiņš University
LocationRiga, LatviaShow on map
Degree of RecognitionInternational

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