Isotretinoin, Acne and Depression: A Prospective Controlled Study

• Autor(a) principal: V. Langer, Laura
• Data de Publicação: 2021
• Outros Autores: Prim, Lucas, Skare, Thelma, Wrublevski, Virginia, Nisihara, Renato
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: eng
• Título da fonte: Repositório Científico de Acesso Aberto de Portugal (Repositórios Cientìficos)
• DOI: 10.29021/spdv.79.3.1373
• Texto Completo: https://doi.org/10.29021/spdv.79.3.1373
• topic: Acne Vulgaris/drug therapy; Depression/chemically induced; Isotretinoin/adverse effects; Acne Vulgar/tratamento farmacológico; Depressão/induzida quimicamente; Isotretinoína/efeitos adversos

Introduction: Acne and isotretinoin, one of its treatment, have been linked to the occurrence of depression. Our aim was to study if isotretinoin is associated with depression in a sample of acne patients followed for 6 months comparing them with acne patients under other treatment modalities and control patients without acne. Methods: One hundred individuals were included: 50 controls and 50 with acne (24 using and 26 not using isotretinoin). Patients and controls answered the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) and the 12 Item-Short Form Health Survey for quality of life (SF-12). Acne patients repeated this evaluation in 90 and 180 days. Results: No differences were found between controls and acne patients regarding BDI results but controls performed worse in the SF-12 mental domain (p=0.004). No differences were found within the acne group between those treated and not treated with isotretinoin in the comparison of the BDI and SF-12 (mental and physical domains) in days 0. 90 and 180 (all with p>0.05). Conclusion: In this small sample isotretinoin treatment showed to be safe regarding the occurrence of depression.