Acne in primary care: A cross-sectional analysis

Acne is a common chronic condition. The aim of this study was to establish the frequency and associations of consultations for acne by early-career general practitioners (general practice registrars).

The study was a cross-sectional analysis of data from the Registrar Clinical Encounters in Training study.

During 2010-18, 2234 registrars contributed data for 289,594 consultations and 453,344 problems/diagnoses. Acne comprised 0.38% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.36, 0.40) of all problems/diagnoses. Nine per cent of patients were new to the practice (odds ratio [OR] 1.82; 95% CI: 1.62, 2.05) and 61% were existing patients of the practice but new to the registrar (OR 1.78; 95% CI: 1.46, 2.18). There was a lower frequency of acne presentations by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander patients (OR 0.29; 95% CI: 0.14, 0.58) and by patients in regional/remote/very remote areas (OR 0.75; 95% CI: 0.58, 0.95).

The majority of the patients had an existing diagnosis of acne. That Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander patients and patients in rural/remote areas present less frequently with acne requires further study.