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SATURDAYOctober 16SESSION 43:30– 3:45Click here to return to Dermatology Update 2004 Schedule and Abstracts |
Andrew Y Finlay Acne can have profound effects on sufferers' life quality. All clinical dermatologists are aware not only of the extent of this impact but also of the wide variation in the attitude and response of different individuals to their skin disease. The aiam of this presentation is to summarise the ways in which lives are affected, describe the methods used to measure the impact of acne on quality of life and to review recent advances in our understanding of this subject. Since we described in 1989 the first acne specific quality of life measure (the Acne Disability Index), several other acne specific measures have been developed. These include the Cardiff Acne Disability Index (CADI), APSEA (Assessment of the Psychological and Social Effect of Acne), the Acne-Specific Quality of Life Questionnaire (Acne-QoL) and the Acne Quality of Life Scale. These measures have questions that are very specific to the problems encountered by acne sufferers and so are well accepted by patients. Disease specific measures are useful to compare one acne patient to another and are likely to be sensitive to detect change following intervention. Dermatology specific measures have also been used widely in acne. Such instruments include the Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI), Skin dex, Dermatology-specific Quality of Life (DSQL) and Dermatology Quality of Life Scales (DQOLS). These measures have the advantage of providing scores that can be compared with other skin diseases: they are also sensitive to change, for example following oral isotretinoin therapy, topical retinoid usage or topical antibiotics. Our recent work with the DLQI has created banding of the scores so that the scores can be easily interpreted in the clinic, enhancing the clinical value of this measure. Knowing the minimal clinical important difference for scores is also an essential aspect of interpreting them in the clinic. General Health quality of life questionnaires used in acne include Short-Form 36, EuroQol EQ-5D, Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HAD) and WHOQOL-BREF. Recent studies have demonstrated a strong association between anger and quality of life and also between anxiety/depression and quality of life. A greater understanding of the relationship between quality of life and compliance in acne therapy may allow creation of enhanced strategies for acne therapy. The implications for clinical practice of these and other insights will be discussed.
Click here to return to Dermatology Update 2004 Schedule and Abstracts |