Cutaneous body image: A window into the adolescent experience of dermatologic disease

Cutaneous body image (CBI) is a self-reported measure of an individual's satisfaction with their hair, skin, and nails using a psychometric survey described and validated in adult dermatology patient populations. As the CBI's clinical utility for pediatric dermatology patients has not yet been examined, we assessed the relationship between CBI scores, demographic, and clinical parameters among adolescents.

Retrospective cohort of 293 patients ages 13-18 seen at the UCSF pediatric dermatology clinic from June 2017 to February 2019. An 11-question CBI survey was administered as part of routine clinical care, querying patient satisfaction with their skin, hair, and nails on a 10-point Likert-type scale, and experience with embarrassment, bullying, and mental health care.

Satisfaction with overall skin, skin of face, and hair significantly varied by patient age (P < .05), decreasing among subjects ages 13-16, and comparatively higher among patients ages 17-18. Mean total CBI scores did not significantly vary by sex, ethnicity, diagnosis, or new versus established patients. Mean total CBI scores were significantly higher among patients who did not report embarrassment (27.5) than among those who did (20.5) (P < .01), and among patients who had not experienced bullying (25.7) than among those who had (22.0) (P < .01).

Objective CBI scores among adolescents correlate with reported negative experiences of skin disease (embarrassment and bullying) and with age. The CBI provides insight into the psychosocial impact of skin disease among adolescents, validates the patient's subjective perspective of their disease, and informs patient-centered discussions and management in the pediatric dermatology clinic setting.