title: Beliefs, perceptions, and treatment modalities of acne among schoolchildren in Lithuania: a cross-sectional study.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Acne vulgaris is a chronic inflammatory disease that affects the majority of adolescents.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  We sought to evaluate children's and adolescents' beliefs, perceptions, sources of information, and modalities of treatment of acne.
  
  
  METHODS
  A cross-sectional study was conducted in 1277 pupils aged 7-19 years. Children and adolescents were surveyed using a self-administered questionnaire and were subsequently examined by one specially trained dermatologist. Children and adolescents with specialist-confirmed acne were additionally interviewed about their help-seeking behavior and acne treatment.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The rate of response to the study was 51.4%. The overall prevalence of acne among responders was 82.9%. According to the Leeds Revised Acne Grading System, 44.6% of responders had no acne, 49.3% had mild acne, 5.9% had moderate acne, and 0.2% had severe acne. Responders with moderate or severe acne more often knew what acne was than responders with mild acne (odds ratio [OR] 5.6, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.3-24.3; OR 1.9, 95% CI 1.3-2.8, respectively). The three main sources of information about acne were parents (76.3%), magazines (35.5%), and friends (29.3%). The three main causal or exacerbating factors of acne pointed out by responders were poor hygiene (69.0%), hormones (65.3%), and diet (64.5%). Only 7.2% of pupils had been provided with treatment for acne by a dermatologist. The majority of pupils (84.9%) with acne had been using cosmetic remedies to control it.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Many children and adolescents consider acne to be a skin problem that is caused by lack of hygiene and misuse acne treatment modalities.
authors.affiliation: Department of Skin and Venereal Diseases, Lithuanian University of Health Sciences, Kaunas, Lithuania.
authors.forename: Jurgita
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Karciauskiene
authors.forename: Skaidra
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Valiukeviciene
authors.forename: Andreas
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Stang
authors.forename: Harald
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Gollnick
mesh_terms: D000152:Acne Vulgaris / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology; D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D003358:Cosmetics / Q000627:therapeutic use; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D057226:Information Seeking Behavior; D008097:Lithuania / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D004366:Nonprescription Drugs / Q000627:therapeutic use; D010342:Patient Acceptance of Health Care / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D010465:Perception; D015995:Prevalence; D012307:Risk Factors; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D013334:Students / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D003358:Cosmetics; D004366:Nonprescription Drugs