Abstract
BACKGROUND: Due to the strong impact of environmental variables on the frequency and severity of these lesions, acne vulgaris (AV), a widespread chronic inflammatory skin disease, is regarded as one of the diseases of civilization. The ailment impacts approximately 9.4% of the global populace. Although it commonly occurs during adolescence, it can happen at any age between 11 and 30. AV is more common in late adolescence, between 15 and 18 years old, when puberty is most likely to have started. It is thought to impact up to 100% of young people and 80% of adults in this age range. The dermatosis often manifests in the second decade of life, gets milder with aging, and eventually goes away at the end of the second or start of the third decade. Nonetheless, there are instances in which the illness has continued into the third and even the fourth decade of life. The purpose of this study was to analyze the patients' pre-treatment hormonal profiles and the post-treatment selected hormonal parameters. Examining the relationship between a few hormonal markers and the severity of acne before to treatment was the first goal.
AIM: The aim of this is to study clinical and epidemiological characteristics and the hormonal profile of adult females with acne.
MATERIAL AND METHOD: This cross-sectional study involved adult female patients over 25 who came to the hospital's outpatient dermatology department with signs and symptoms of acne vulgaris. Using a successive sample technique, 100 patients—50 cases and 50 controls—were gathered for the investigation. Every study participant gave their informed consent. Following a thorough medical history and physical examination, notes were made regarding the patient's habits, location of acne lesions and other skin lesions, associated diseases, and the relationship between acne flare-ups and the menstrual cycle. Age, height, body weight, and regularity of menstruation were all inquired about from the patients.
RESULTS: For this investigation, a total of 120 female patients who were older than 25 were chosen. Just 100 of them consented to take part in the research. Ten patients (10%) experienced late-onset acne, while thirty patients (30%) had persistent acne. Twelve patients (12%) had skin types that were normal. There were 23 (23%) and 5 (5%) patients with oily and dry skin, respectively. The study population's mean (SD) level of LH was 3.44 (1.37) IU/L. Three patients (3%) had decreased FSH levels and five individuals (5%) had increased LH levels. Every patient had normal DHEAS and prolactin levels. Five patients (5%) exhibited high levels of LH:FSH.
CONCLUSION: In dermatological practice, acne is one of the most prevalent skin conditions and the most straightforward to diagnose. We only discovered disturbed values in a small number of patients who also exhibited clinical indications of hyperandrogenism in the situations when hormonal screening was done. Even in cases when there are normal levels of androgen in the serum, hormonal therapy can be quite effective in treating female acne. More research examining how women with aberrant androgenic parameters respond to anti-androgen medication with those with normal androgenic parameters may provide a deeper understanding of the function androgens play in acne in women.
KEYWORDS: Acne Vulgaris, Hyperandrogenism, Laboratory Markers, Profile, Hormonal Factors, Contraception and Treatment