Acné Juvénile : Une Pathologie Fréquente Chez Les Adolescents Scolarisés D’Afrique Sub-saharienne

RESUME OBJECTIF : Decrire les caracteristiques epidemiologiques et cliniques de l’acne chez les adolescents scolarises de Yaounde. METHODOLOGIE : Nous avons mene une etude transversale de Janvier a Avril 2013 au sein de 3 etablissements d’enseignement secondaire de la ville de Yaounde, Cameroun. Tout adolescent âge de 15-19 ans et atteint d’acne etait inclus dans l’etude. RESULTATS : Des 535 adolescents examines, 400 (74,8%) etaient atteints d’acne, dont 214 filles (53,5%) avec un risque plus eleve chez les garcons d’etre atteints (odds-ratio (OR) 1,8, intervalle de confiance (IC) a 95% : 1,2-2,7 ; p = 0,005). L’âge moyen etait de 16,7 ± 1.3 ans. Les participants âges de 16 ans etaient les plus affectes (31,7%). Le pic d’âge au debut de l’acne etait de 12 ans chez les filles (22,4%) et 14 ans chez les garcons (30,1%), avec significativement plus de filles affectees tot (9-13 ans) que de garcons (14-18 ans) (OR 2,8, IC : 1,8-4,3 ; p < 0,0001). Le visage representait le siege preferentiel (79%), et, comedons (98%) et papules (95%) etaient les types de lesions les plus nombreuses. L’acne retentionnelle (58,5%) et l’acne polymorphe (37,5%) etaient les formes les plus rencontrees, et le grade 2 etait le degre de severite le plus observe (41,5%). CONCLUSION : L’acne est une pathologie frequente en milieu scolaire Camerounais. Bien que les formes severes soient rares, les lesions semblent predominer sur les parties exposees du corps, ce qui pourrait avoir un retentissement sur l’etat psycho-affectif et la qualite de vie des patients. ABSTRACT OBJECTIVE: To describe the epidemiological and clinical aspects of juvenile acne among Cameroonian schooled adolescents. METHODS: This was a cross-sectional study conducted from January to April 2013 in three randomly chosen secondary schools of Yaounde, Cameroon. We included schooled-adolescents aged 15-19 years old suffering from acne. RESULTS: Four hundred (74.8%) out of the 535 teenagers examined were found with acne, of whom 214 (53.5%) were girls, with an increased likelihood for boys to be more affected than their counterparts (odds-ratio (OR) 1.8, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.2-2.7; p = 0.005). The mean age was 16.7 ± 1.3 years old. Participants aged 16 years were the most affected (31.7%). The peak-age at onset of acne was 12 years among girls (22.4%), and 14 years among boys ’30.1%), with girls being significantly more affected at a younger age (9-13 years) than boys (14-18 years) (OR 2.8, IC : 1.8-4.3 ; p < 0,0001). A family history of acne was present among 233 of our participants (58.3%). The face was the prevailing site of lesions (79%), and blackheads (98%) and papules (95%) were the most encountered types of lesions. Retentional acne (58.5%) and polymorph acne (37.5%) were the dominating clinical forms observed, and grade 2 was the degree of severity we mostly encountered (41.5%). CONCLUSION: Juvenile acne is a frequent skin disease among Cameroonian schooled-adolescents. Although severe cases are rare, the lesions seem to prevail on exposed parts of the body with a likely negative impact on the psycho-affective state of those suffering from this condition, and thus their quality of life.