Quantitative Documentation of a Premenstrual Flare of Facial Acne in Adult Women

Abstract

Subjects: Adult women 18 to 44 years old with normal periods who were receiving no treatment for their acne.Main Outcome Measures: Acne lesion counts were surveyed over the follicular and luteal phases of 2 full menstrual cycles.Results: Most (63%) of these women showed a 25% premenstrual increase in the number of inflammatory acne lesions. Conclusion:This is the first quantitative documentation of the presence and degree of premenstrual acne flares in adult women.

Impact of Acne Vulgaris on the Quality of Life

“…Premenstrual flare was the most common aggravating factor in females as in other reports. 3,18 Majority of patients presented with different morphological types of lesions and papules, comedones and pustules were the commonest as observed in other studies. 14,19 As reported in literature, severe forms like scarring and nodules were common in males.…”

Self‐reported skin sensitivity in a general adult population in France: data of the SU.VI.MAX cohort

“…In fact, subclinical allergic contact dermatitis may influence the expression of skin sensitivity, as well as those of certain clinical signs reported in the context of inflammatory skin pathways 30 . Finally, skin reactions linked to the menstrual cycle in women (pattern IV) are linked with acne flares: indeed, an increase in the occurrence of inflammatory acne lesions during the premenstrual period has been reported previously 33 …”

Effect of insulin‐like growth factor‐1 deficiency or administration on the occurrence of acne

“…31 Another study conducted among women aged 18-44 years reported that 63% exhibited a 25% premenstrual increase in the number of inflammatory acne lesions. 32 In our previous reports on patients with LS, pharmacological levels of IGF-1 were found to have a stimulating effect on gonadotropin secretion, which in turn increased testicular testosterone secretion, without an obvious effect on adrenal androgens. 28,29 Thus, the increased androgen level seems to be the factor connecting IGF-1 with the appearance of acne.…”