Assessment of Sociodemographic and Clinical Features in Patients with Adolescent and Post-adolescent Acne

Background and Design: Acne is an inflammatory disease of the pilosebaceous follicle and is generally accepted as a disorder of the adolescence period. However, an increased frequency during post-adolescence has been reported recently, especially in adult women. We aimed to compare sociodemographic and clinical features of patients with adolescent and post-adolescent acne in order to determine whether there are differences between these two groups. Material and Method: Uc yuz on dort patients diagnosed as acne were included in the study. All patients were asked about demographical information, family history, drug use, presence of stress, cosmetic and diet association, and in women, presence of hyperandrogenic findings and a premenstrual flare-up of acne. Results: 46.8% of patients had adolescent acne and 53.1% post-adolescent acne. Of the patients with post-adolescent acne, 143 (85.6%) were women and 24 (14.3%) men. In both adolescent and post-adolescent groups, women and single patients had more acne than the others and the clinical severity of acne was similar. Cheeks, nose, forehead and back involvements were more common in adolescents, while perioral area and neck were affected mostly in post-adolescence. In adult women, there was no difference regarding prevalence of hyperandrogenic findings, except androgenetic alopecia. The increased frequency in acne correlated significantly with stress, cosmetic applications, and premenstrual flare-up in post-adolescent women, while diet association was more common in the adolescent group. Conclusion: Adolescent and post-adolescent acne show some differences with regard to sociodemographic and clinical eatures. Each group needs to be evaluated individually. It is important to determine these differences for precautions and therapeutic approach. (Turkderm 2010; 44: 138-42)