The eating attitudes, sleep and personality characteristics, and effects of on acne severity in adolescents with acne vulgaris

Background: Acne vulgaris (AV) is a very common dermatological problem during adolescence. It is reported that it has a multifactorial etiology and nutritional attitudes, insufficient and poor-quality sleep may cause increased severity of AV. Aim: We aimed to investigate the sleep, eating attitudes and personality traits, and their effects on acne severity in adolescents with acne. Methods: The study sample was formed of 37 adolescent girls aged 12–18 years who presented at the University Dermatology Clinic and were diagnosed with AV and 37 adolescents without AV-matched age and gender. Eating attitude test, Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-5 (DSM-5) Personality Inventory Child Form, and child and parent forms of DSM-5 Level 2 Sleep Disorders were applied to in both groups. The AV severity assessed by using the Global Acne Grading Scale (GAGS). Psychiatric diagnosis was excluded with clinical interview according to the Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia for school-aged children: Present and Lifetime Version (K-SADS-PL-DSM-5-T). Results: The mean age of adolescents with and without AV was 15.3 (standard deviation [SD] = 1.7), 15.4 (SD = 1.8), respectively. The mean disease duration of adolescents with AV was 20.4 (SD = 15.2) months, and the mean GAGS score was 23.24 (SD = 9.4). It was determined that eating attitudes, sleep, and personality characteristics of adolescents were similar in both groups. Eating attitudes, sleep, and personality characteristics had no direct effect on acne severity. Conclusion: Although this study demonstrates that eating attitudes, sleep, and personality characteristics were similar in adolescents with and without AV and these variables had no effect on acne severity, these results may have been obtained because of the severity scores of adolescents with AV were “moderate.” There is a need for researches examining these variables in adolescents with “severe” AV.