Abstract
Acne vulgaris is a disorder that usually appears at puberty and resolves in late adolescence or early adult life. However, there are a significant number of adults who also suffer from acne. This chapter will review the epidemiology of adult acne, its etiology, pathogenesis, and clinical presentation, a suggested clinical and laboratory evaluation, and an approach to therapy. Adult acne can be divided into persistent acne which continues into adult life from the teen years and adult-onset acne which first appears after age 25 years. Much of the pathogenesis, clinical presentation, and therapy are comparable in both types and they will be discussed together.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Goulden V, Clark SM, Cunliffe WJ. Post-adolescent acne: a review of clinical features. Br J Dermatol. 1997;136:66–70.
Goulden V, McGeown CH, Cunliffe WJ. The familial risk of adult acne: a comparison between first-degree relatives of affected and unaffected individuals. Br J Dermatol. 1999;141:297–300.
Plunkett A, Merlin K, Grill D, et al. The frequency of common non-malignant skin conditions in adults in central Victoria, Australia. Int J Dermatol. 1999;38:901–8.
McConnell RC, Fleischer AB Jr, Williford PM, Feldman SR. Most topical tretinoin treatment is for acne vulgaris through the age of 44 years: an analysis of the National Medical Care Survey, 1990–1994.
Shaw JC, White LE. Persistent acne in adult women. Arch Dermatol. 2001;137:1252–3.
Poli F, Dreno B, Verschoore M. An epidemiological study of acne in female adults: results of a survey conducted in France. JEADV. 2001;15:541–5.
Williams C, Layton AM. Persistent acne in women. Implications for the patient and therapy. Am J Clin Dermatol. 2006;7:281–90.
Collier CN, Harper JC, Cafardi JA, Cantrell WC, Wang W, Foster KW, Elewski BE. The prevalence of acne in adults 20 years and older. J Am Acad Dermatol. 2008;58:56–9.
Cunliffe WJ. Natural history of acne. In: Marks R, editor. Acne and related disorders. London: M. Dunitz; 1989. p. 4–6.
Till AE, Goulden V, Cunliffe WJ, et al. The cutaneous microflora of adolescent, persistent and late-onset patients does not differ. Br J Dermatol. 2000;142:885–92.
Degitz M, Placzek M, Arnold B, et al. Congenital adrenal hyperplasia and acne in male patients. Br J Dermatol. 2003;148:1263–6.
Placzek M, Arnold B, Schmidt H, et al. Elevated 17-hydroxyprogesterone serum values in male patients with acne. J Am Acad Dermatol. 2005;53:955–8.
Aizawa H, Niimura M. Serum hormone levels in men with severe acne. J Dermatol. 1992;19:404–7.
Aizawa H, Miimura M. Adrenal androgen abnormalities in women with late onset and persistent acne. Arch Dermatol Res. 1993;284:451–5.
Darley CR, Moore JW, Besser GM, et al. Androgen status in women with late onset or persistent acne vulgaris. Clin Exp Dermatol. 1984;9:28–35.
Lucky AW, McGuire J, Rosenfield RL, et al. Plasma androgens in women with acne vulgaris. J Invest Dermatol. 1983;81:70–4.
Lucky AW. Quantitative Documentation of a Premenstrual Flare of Facial Acne in Adult Women. Arch Dermatol. 2004;140:423–4.
Thiboutot D. Acne: hormonal concepts and therapy. Clin Dermatol. 2004;22:419–28.
Kligman AM. Postadolescent acne in women. Cutis. 1991;48:75–7.
Thiboutot D, Chen W. Update and Future of Hormonal Therapy in Acne. Dermatology. 2003;206:57–67.
Cappel M, Mauger D, Thiboutot D. Correlation between serum levels of insulin-like growth factor-1, deydroepiandrosterone sulfate, and dihydrotestosterone and acne lesions counts in adult women. Arch Dermatol. 2005;141:333–8.
Meckstroth KR, Darney PD. Implantable contraception. Obstet Gynecol Clin North Am. 2000;27:781–815
Hartgens F, Kuipers H. Effects of androgenic-anabolic steroids in athletes. Sports Med. 2004;45(8):513–54.
DeWitt C, Siroy A, Stone S. Acneiform eruptions associated with epidermal growth factor receptor-targeted chemotherapy. J Am Acad Dermatol. 2007;56:500–5.
Arnold L, Auchenbach M, McElroy S. Psychogenic excoriation: clinical features, proposed diagnostic criteria, epidemiology and approaches to treatment. CNS Drugs. 2001;15(5):351–9.
Chiu A, Chon S, Kimball A. The response of skin disease to stress: changes in the severity of acne vulgaris as affected by examination stress. Arch Dermatol. 2003;139:897–900.
Vexiau P, Husson C, Chivot M, et al. Androgen excess in women with acne alone compared with women with acne and/or hirsutism. J Invest Dermatol. 1990;94:279–83.
Lucky AW, Biro FM, Huster GA, et al. Acne vulgaris in premenarchal girls. Arch Dermatol. 1994;130(3):308–14.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2014 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Lucky, A.W., Dessinioti, C., Katsambas, A.D. (2014). Adult Acne. In: Zouboulis, C., Katsambas, A., Kligman, A. (eds) Pathogenesis and Treatment of Acne and Rosacea. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-69375-8_32
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-69375-8_32
Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg
Print ISBN: 978-3-540-69374-1
Online ISBN: 978-3-540-69375-8
eBook Packages: MedicineMedicine (R0)