Prevalence of acne in Chinese college students and its associations with social determinants and quality of life:a population-based cross-sectional study

To the Editor:Acne vulgaris is a common chronic inflammatory skin disease.It is the 8th most prevalent disease in the world.Among adolescents,more than 85%once suffered from acne.[1]Moreover,according to the recent evidence,[2]patients often experience great physical and mental stress especially among the college students,due to its recurrence and scars or post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation left after healing.In China,while there are many studies on acne among adolecents and young adults,most of them are hospital-based.Substantial selection bias may be introduced in these studies because patients with severer symptoms or signs of disease are more likely to seek medical care,and perceive more impaired quality of life.The epidemiologic data from population-based studies in China are still lacking.Our study aims to estimate the prevalence of moderate and severe acne in Chinese college students and assess its impact on the quality of life.