Background: Acne vulgaris is a skin disease of chronic inflammatory nature. Although
acne is not a life threatening, it has a deleterious impact on patients' social and
psychological health. Objective: to estimate the prevalence of acne among Egyptian
adolescents and its effect on their quality of life (QOL) as well as usage of complementary
alternative medicine (CAM). Method: A cross-sectional study was conducted on 985
secondary school adolescents. They were asked to fill out a questionnaire including their
socio-demographic data and CAM usage information. Their height and body weight were
measured to calculate their body mass index (BMI). The Short Form 36 (SF-36)
questionnaire was used to assess their quality of life status. Results: The overall
prevalence of acne vulgaris was 36.9% most of them were in mild form (52.3%). It was
not significantly affected by age or type of school. Acne vulgaris was significantly more
prevalent among females, those living in urban areas and with low socio-economic status
(SES). All the scales of the SF36 QOL questionnaire were significantly lower among
participants with acne. About 50% of those who had acne tried CAM at least once. Honeyyoghurt
and yeast face masks were the commonest CAM used without any significant
difference between males and females. Conclusion: Acne vulgaris is common among
secondary school children and can significantly affect their QOL. Most of them may try
CAM at least once. More knowledge on how to deal with and treat acne should be
provided to students in this age.