Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40897477›Full record

ArticleBMJ open2025

Health-related quality of life and correlation with clinical severity in patients with acne: a cross-sectional study at a single centre in China.

Liyong Lu, Hua Zhong, Gang Chen, Shunping Li, Lei Dou

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in BMJ open, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

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Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors.

Liyong Lu *Department of Social Medicine and Health Management, School of Public Health,Cheeloo College of Medicine, Shandong University, Jinan, China.
Hua Zhong *Department of Dermatology, Qilu Hospital, Shandong University, Jinan, China.
Gang ChenMelbourne School of Population and Global Health, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC, Australia.
Shunping LiDepartment of Social Medicine and Health Management, School of Public Health,Cheeloo College of Medicine, Shandong University, Jinan, China.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-8144-6220
Lei DouDepartment of Social Medicine and Health Management, School of Public Health,Cheeloo College of Medicine, Shandong University, Jinan, China doulei@sdu.edu.cn.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-8457-0224

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectivesThe presence of acne can significantly impact patients' health-related quality of life (HRQoL); however, the correlation between patient-reported HRQoL impairment and clinician-evaluated severity has been unclear. The objective of the study was to evaluate HRQoL in patients with different acne severity using generic, dermatology-specific and acne-specific instruments and investigate the correlation between clinical severity and HRQoL.

designData for the cross-sectional survey were extracted from March 2017 to December 2018. The convenient sampling strategy was used to select participants.

settingThe study was conducted at the Department of Dermatology, Qilu Hospital, Shandong University.

participantsA total of 1056 outpatients participated in the survey, and 962 patients were analysed in the study. PRIMARY AND SECONDARY OUTCOME MEASURES: The generic instrument (EuroQol 5-Dimensions 5-Levels, EQ-5D-5L), dermatology-specific instrument (Dermatology Life Quality Index, DLQI) and acne-specific instrument (Cardiff Acne Disability Index, CADI) were administered to assess HRQoL and the Global Acne Grading System was used to measure clinical severity.

resultsThe mean health state utility (HSU) EQ-5D-5L score of 0.96 (SD: 0.06), a total DLQI score of 6.84 (SD: 4.88) and a total CADI score of 5.72 (SD: 2.81). Patients with moderate and severe acne showed greater impairment compared with patients with mild acne, as evidenced by significantly lower HSU scores (-0.017 and -0.066) and higher DLQI (1.457 and 2.043) and CADI scores (0.726 and 1.685). Clinical severity was weakly correlated with HRQoL scores for all acne severities (rs=-0.131 to 0.167).

conclusionsAcne is associated with significant HRQoL impairments, especially in terms of psychosocial functioning. It is very important to incorporate HRQoL assessment into clinical practice in future research, and dermatology-specific and acne-specific HRQoL instruments should be used in combination to assess the health status of acne patients.

Indexed as

Acne VulgarisQuality of LifeAdolescentAdultChinaCross-Sectional StudiesFemaleHumansMaleSeverity of Illness IndexSurveys and QuestionnairesYoung AdultAcneClinical Decision-MakingPatient Reported Outcome Measures

Identifiers

PMID40897477
PMCPMC12406913

What Socratic holds

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LicenceCC BY-NC
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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.