THE PREVALENCE OF ACNE ON THE BASIS OF PHYSICAL-EXAMINATION

Background: It has been suggested that cystic acne is rare in women 15 to 44 years of age and infrequent in men. Objective: To determine the prevalence of acne, we analyzed the primary data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) that included a cutaneous examination of a stratified random sample of 20,749 noninstitutionalized U.S. residents. Methods: We calculated the prevalence of various disease states based on NHANES primary data and the NHANES population weights. Prevalence estimates and male/female ratios of these estimates were calculated. Results: From 1971 to 1974, the projected prevalence of acne conglobata (grade IV acne) for women and men 15 to 44 years of age in the United States was 250,000 and 570,000, respectively. At the time of examination, an additional 582,000 women and 749,000 men were projected to have moderate acne with cysts and scars. Therefore the prevalence of acne conglobata and acne of at least a moderate degree with cysts and scars was 832,000 for women and 1,319,000 for men 15 to 44 years of age. The male/female ratio for acne with cysts and scars is approximately 1.6: 1. Conclusion: The NHANES examination data demonstrate that acne with cysts and scars is common in both men and women.