Comparison of the epidemiology of acne
vulgaris among Caucasian, Asian, Continental Indian and African American women.
J Eur Acad Dermatol Venereol. 2010 Nov 25.
Perkins A, Cheng C, Hillebrand G, Miyamoto
K, Kimball A.
Dept of Dermatology, Massachusetts
General Hospital, Boston, MA
Procter & Gamble, Cincinnati, OH
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Background Acne vulgaris is a common skin disease with a large quality
of life impact, characterized by comedones, inflammatory
lesions, secondary dyspigmentation and scarring. There are few large objective
studies comparing acne epidemiology between racial and ethnic
groups.
Objective This study aimed to define the
prevalence and subtypes of acne in women
The sample of different racial groups from four ethnicities.
Methods consisted of 2895 (384 African American, 520 Asian, 1295 Caucasian, 258
Hispanic and 438 Continental Indian) women ranging in age from 10 to years.
Photographs of subjects were graded for acne lesions, scars, 70 dyspigmentation, and measurements taken of sebum
excretion and pore Clinical acne
was more prevalent in African American and size.
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Results Hispanic women (37%, 32%
respectively) than in Continental Indian, Caucasian and Asian (23%, 24%, 30%
respectively) women. All racial groups displayed equal prevalence of both
subtypes of acne with the exception of Asians, for whom inflammatory acne was
more prevalent than comedonal (20% vs. 10%) acne, and in Caucasians, for whom
comedonal acne was more prevalent than inflammatory (14% vs. 10%) acne.
Hyperpigmentation was more prevalent in
African American and Hispanic (65%, 48% respectively) than in Asian,
Continental Indian and Caucasian (18%, 10%, 25% respectively) women.
Dyspigmentation and atrophic scarring were more common in African American and
Hispanic women than in all other ethnicities.
There was a negative correlation between pore
size and skin lightness for all ethnicities. Sebum production was positively
correlated with acne severity in African American, Asian and Hispanic women,
and pore size was positively correlated with acne in African American, Asian
and Continental Indian women, (for all above results, P< Only female
participants were 0.05).
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Limitations: Data collection was restricted to four cities, with some ethnicities
from single cities. Acne was evaluated only on the left side of the face and
the two-dimensional nature of photography may not Acne prevalence and capture
all skin surface changes.
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Conclusion:
Sequelae were more common in those
with darker skin types, suggesting that acne is a more heterogeneous condition
than previously described and highlight the importance of skin-colour tailored
treatment.
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