Acne treatment patterns, expectations, and satisfaction among adult females of different races/ethnicities

Abstract

Background

Limited data are available on acne treatment patterns, expectations, and satisfaction in the adult female subpopulation, particularly among different racial and ethnic groups.

Objective

Describe acne treatment patterns and expectations in adult females of different racial/ethnic groups and analyze and explore their potential effects on medication compliance and treatment satisfaction.

Methods

A cross-sectional, Web-based survey was administered to US females (25–45 years) with facial acne (≥25 visible lesions). Data collected included sociodemographics, self-reported clinical characteristics, acne treatment use, and treatment expectations and satisfaction.

Results

Three hundred twelve subjects completed the survey (mean age, 35.3±5.9 years), comprising black (30.8%), Hispanic (17.6%), Asian/other (17.3%), and white (34.3%). More than half of the subjects in each racial group recently used an acne treatment or procedure (black, 63.5%; Hispanic, 54.5%; Asian/other, 66.7%; white, 66.4%). Treatment use was predominantly over-the-counter (OTC) (47.4%) versus prescription medications (16.6%). OTC use was highest in white subjects (black, 42.7%; Hispanic, 34.5%; Asian/other, 44.4%; white, 59.8%; P<0.05). The most frequently used OTC treatments in all racial/ethnic groups were salicylic acid (SA) (34.3%) and benzoyl peroxide (BP) (32.1%). Overall, compliance with acne medications was highest in white versus black (57.0±32.4 vs 42.7±33.5 days, P>0.05), Hispanic (57.0±32.4 vs 43.2±32.9 days, P>0.05), and Asian/other (57.0±32.4 vs 46.9±37.2 days, P>0.05) subjects. Most subjects expected OTC (73.7%) and prescription (74.7%) treatments to work quickly. Fewer than half of the subjects were satisfied with OTC treatment (BP, 47.0%; SA, 43.0%), often due to skin dryness (BP, 26.3%; SA, 44.3%) and flakiness (BP, 12.3%; SA, 31.1%). No statistically significant differences were observed among racial/ethnic groups in their level of satisfaction with OTC or prescription acne treatments.

Conclusion

Racial/ethnic differences were observed in acne treatment patterns in adult females, while treatment expectations were similar. Results indicate that treatment patterns and expectations may impact treatment satisfaction and medication compliance.

Keywords:

• acne
• ethnicity
• patient satisfaction
• race
• women

Acknowledgments

The authors thank the following individuals for their contributions to the study: Andrew Alexis (Skin of Color Center at St Luke’s-Roosevelt Hospital and Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York, NY), Hilary E Baldwin (State University of New York Downstate Medical Center, Brooklyn, NY), Valerie D Callender (Callender Dermatology and Cosmetic Center, Glenn Dale, MD), Emil A Tanghetti (The Center for Dermatology and Laser Surgery, Sacramento, CA), Susan Taylor (Society Hill Dermatology, Philadelphia, PA), Joe Gorelick (California Skin Institute, San Jose, CA), and Tracee Douse-Dean (Lakeview Dermatology, Orland Park, IL) for their contributions to survey design; Karen Yeomans (UBC) for her contributions to survey design and execution; Krista A Payne (UBC) for survey design; Ren Yu (Evidera) for data analysis and statistical support; Marielle Bassel, Irene Pan, and Sunning Tao (UBC) for survey project support; Sepideh F Varon (Allergan Inc.) for strategy support in refocusing subject recruitment; Samantha Luks, Ashley Grosse, and Jason Cowden (YouGov) for Web survey management and implementation; and Owen Cooper (Evidera), Jiat-Ling Poon (Evidera), and Svetlana Pidasheva (Allergan, Inc.) for editorial support in the preparation and styling of this manuscript.

This study was sponsored by Allergan, Inc., Irvine, CA, USA. The sponsor and coauthors were involved in study design, statistical analysis, and interpretation of results. The authors had full access to the data and were involved in the critical review and revision of the manuscript. All authors provided approval prior to submission.

Author contributions

SRD and CTB participated in planning the study, collecting the data, and interpreting the results. AKK and TKW participated in planning the study, collecting the data, conducting the analyses, and interpreting the results. AND, DAR, MIR, and WER participated in interpreting the results. AKK and TKW drafted the manuscript, and all authors participated in the critical review and revision of the manuscript. All authors approved the final version of the manuscript for submission. All authors assume responsibility for the completeness and accuracy of the data and data analyses.

Disclosure

CTB serves as a consultant for Allergan Inc. AND and SRD were employees of Allergan, Inc. at the time this research was conducted. AKK and TKW are employees of Evidera. DAR has received honoraria, has consultancy agreements with, and has served as a speaker for Genentech, Merz, Leo Pharma, and Allergan, Inc. MIR has received honoraria from Allergan, Inc., Galderma, L’Oreal, Mary Kay, Merz, Pierre Fabre, and Valeant; has consultancy agreements with Allergan, Inc., L’Oreal, Mary Kay, MelaFind, Merz, and Pierre Fabre; has served as a speaker for Allergan, Galderma, and Merz; and has received research grants from Allergan, Inc., Amgen, Galderma, Leo Pharma, and Merck. WER has received honoraria from Allergan, Inc., Kythera, L’Oreal, MelaScience, Neostrata, SkinMedica, and Valeant; has consultancy agreements with Allergan, Inc., Kythera, L’Oreal, MelaScience, Neostrata, SkinMedica, Valeant, Top MD, and Theraplex; has served as a speaker for La Roche-Posay, Neostrata, and SkinMedica; and has received research grants from Allergan, Inc. The authors report no other conflicts of interest in this work.