Lifestyle, medication use, and age considerations with acne vulgaris: A prospective study

Background

Lifestyle has been associated with acne, but few studies assess how the relationship changes over time. Observational studies often overlook the effects of acne medication use and participant age in relationships with lifestyle-related factors.

Objectives

To describe relationships between lifestyle-related factors, medication use, and age in adolescent and young adult acne patients and acne-free controls.

Methods

This prospective study recruited 12- to 24-year-olds with or without acne at baseline. Surveys were electronically administered at enrolment and again 6 weeks later. Analyses were conducted on all participants who had complete baseline data (N = 190) and participants who had complete baseline and follow-up data (N = 61).

Results

Among 190 participants who completed the baseline survey, ages ranged from 12 to 24 years, but acne cases were concentrated in the middle of this range while controls had comparably more participants with ages towards the extremes. Among 61 participants who completed both baseline and follow-up surveys, no participants indicated worse acne over the 6 weeks, and most acne cases believed their acne improved (n = 25 [69.4%]). Acne cases who used medication daily (N = 24) saw improved emotion-related quality of life between the two assessments (mean ± standard deviation: 43.4 ± 24.4 to 29.1 ± 23.7; p < 0.001). Among acne cases who used medication daily, average fruit or vegetable consumption increased from 2.4 ± 2.0 to 3.0 ± 2.9 times per day over the preceding 7 days (p = 0.02). Among acne cases who believed their acne improved over the 6 weeks post-dermatology visit (N = 25), average days of skin picking over the previous 7 days declined between assessments (3.9 ± 2.4 to 2.4 ± 1.9 days; p = 0.003).

Conclusions

Medication use and age differences should be considered when designing future studies on acne and lifestyle-related factors.