A new study by a dermatology group find that for many people acne in adolesence does not seem to go away as we enter adulthood. Even more of a reason I guess to stay away from thinking that this is all hormone driven and to try instead to find the best acne treatment.
Study participants were randomly selected from patients in waiting areas of various outpatient services at the university hospital. The survey yielded 1,013 questionnaires with complete data.
Overall, 73.3% of participants reported having a pimple or acne at some time. With regard to teenaged acne, 68.5% of male patients and 66.8% of females reported having had acne as a teenager, a difference that was not significant.
A significantly greater proportion of women than men reported being affected by acne after their teens. The percentage of patients reporting acne during that decade of life was:
* 20s: women 50.9%, men 42.5% (P=0.0073)
* 30s: women 35.2%, men 20.1% (P<0.0001)
* 40s: women 26.3%, men 12% (P<0.0001)
* 50 and older: women 15.3%, men 7.3% (P=0.046)
A separate part of the survey dealt with issues specific to women. Among premenopausal women, 62.2% said their acne worsened around the time of menstruation. Of 86 women who reported using hormone replacement therapy or other treatments for menopausal symptoms, nine (10.5%) said the treatment improved their acne.
Discussing the findings and implications of the research, the authors stated, "Recognition of the prevalence of acne among the adult population has led to closer study of the characteristics that might differentiate adolescent from postadolescent acne."
