Word: mentality
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...results show that the level of mental distress kids reported was strongly associated with how much acne they said they had, independent of other factors like diet or lifestyle. Roughly 19% of all kids who reported symptoms of anxiety and depression said they had acne, compared to only 12% of those who reported no mental distress. Among boys, those with depression and anxiety were 68% more likely to report acne than their happier peers; among girls, those with mental distress were twice as likely as those without to report acne. (See pictures of the college dorm's evolution...
...study found, for the first time, a linear relationship between mood and pimples: the worse the mental-illness symptoms, the worse the acne. It's possible that the association simply means that kids who feel depressed are more likely to report they have bad acne, even if they don't - but previous studies have shown that dermatologists independently agree with teens' self-reports of acne severity about 75% of the time. Some of the depressed and anxious kids in the Norwegian study may have exaggerated their acne, but in a sample as large as this one, it's unlikely that...
...could mental-health problems actually exacerbate acne? One theory is that people with mental distress eat more junk food. Dearly held teen lore says that overindulging in chocolate and potato chips - which can make greasy fingers and, consequently, greasy faces - spawns pimples. This is mostly myth, according to the study's findings, although they offered a bit of support for the notion that diet plays a role. Girls in the study who consumed few vegetables tended to have more zits than girls who ate lots of greens. But diet was entirely irrelevant for boys...
...authors also discount other lifestyle factors. The Norwegian adolescents who said they regularly use alcohol and cigarettes were no more likely to report acne than those who were abstemious. Only mental distress was strongly correlated with acne in both boys and girls...
...study has some obvious shortcomings, particularly that it relies entirely on self-reports from a self-selected group of respondents. Much more rigorous research needs to be conducted to understand the relationship between mental illness and pimples - as well as the root cause of bad cases of acne. But in the meantime, drug companies might want to start working on a Clearasil-Prozac miracle cream...