Department of Dermatology, Catholic University of Pelotas, Pelotas, Brazil Department of Dermatology, Federal University of Pelotas, Pelotas, RS, Brazil.
Int J Dermatol. 2013 Aug;52(8):946-8. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-4632.2011.05443.x. Epub 2013 Jun 20.
Self-reporting is widely used in medical research. The objective of the present study was to evaluate the specificity and sensitivity of self-reported lesions of acne (scars and active lesions) obtained by an interview with the examination carried out by a dermatologist.
A questionnaire was applied to male adolescents who registered for obligatory military service. After that, skin examination was carried out.
Of the 2,191 adolescents examined, 474 (21.60%) showed acne scars, and 625 (28.51%) admitted to having scars. The sensitivity of self-reported scars was 50.84%, and the specificity was 77.65%. The prevalence of active acne obtained by the dermatological examination was 85.76% and from self-reported acne was 76.12%, with a sensitivity of 80.95% and a specificity of 52.88%. Neither schooling nor social class made any difference to sensitivity or specificity.
Our findings showed that sensitivity and specificity of self-reported acne was very low, pointing out that, in a sample of adolescents, self-reporting of acne shows itself as an inadequate instrument for epidemiological studies.
自我报告在医学研究中被广泛应用。本研究的目的是评估通过皮肤科医生进行的访谈和检查获得的自我报告的痤疮病变（疤痕和活跃病变）的特异性和敏感性。
对登记参加义务兵役的男性青少年进行问卷调查。之后，进行皮肤检查。
在接受检查的 2191 名青少年中，有 474 名（21.60%）有痤疮疤痕，625 名（28.51%）承认有疤痕。自我报告的疤痕的敏感性为 50.84%，特异性为 77.65%。通过皮肤科检查获得的活跃性痤疮的患病率为 85.76%，通过自我报告获得的为 76.12%，敏感性为 80.95%，特异性为 52.88%。教育程度和社会阶层对敏感性和特异性均无影响。
我们的研究结果表明，自我报告的痤疮的敏感性和特异性非常低，这表明在青少年样本中，自我报告的痤疮作为一种流行病学研究的工具是不充分的。
