How much disability is caused by acne?

Abstract

One-hundred patients completed a questionnaire designed to assess the disability resulting from acne; patient acne severity was also graded clinically. Ten questions which correlated strongly with clinical acne severity were used to form an Acne Disability Index (ADI). This ADI correlated with the severity of facial acne (r = 0.246, P less than 0.01), chest acne (r = 0.347, P less than 0.001) and back acne (r = 0.436, P less than 0.001). Measures were made of the financial value to patients of acne treatment: when hypothetically offered either a cure for their acne or 500 pounds, 87% of patients preferred the treatment rather than the money. All 13 patients who stated a preference for the 500 pounds had minimal acne. There is no correlation between the clinical grading of acne and the amount patients would be prepared to pay for a hypothetical cure but there is a correlation between the acne disability score and the amount patients would pay (r = 0.229, P less than 0.05).