New acne diagnoses linked to increased depression risk

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(Thomson Reuters) — In the first year after being told by a doctor that they have acne, patients’ risk for a diagnosis of major depressive disorder spikes by more than 60 per cent compared to the general population, according to a new study.

Dermatologists and other doctors treating acne should keep an eye on patients’ mood symptoms as well, and start treatment or make a psychological referral if depression is present, the authors write in the British Journal of Dermatology.

“The idea for the current study came from another recently published study we did looking at the mental health effects of the acne drug isotretinoin (Accutane),” lead author Isabelle Vallerand, a Calgary researcher, told Reuters Health by email.

“Over the past few years, there have been numerous reports that isotretinoin has been linked to psychiatric disorders,” said Vallerand, Vallerand, a researcher with the Community Health Sciences department of the Cumming School of Medicine at University of Calgary. (…)

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