Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Acne vulgaris is associated with intensive pubertal development and altitude of residence—a cross-sectional population-based study on 6,200 boys

  • Original Article
  • Published:
European Journal of Pediatrics Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Acne vulgaris is a chronic inflammatory disease with a complex pathogenesis that affects predominantly adolescents. The aim of the study was to investigate the interrelations between the presence of acne and several variables associated with somatic growth, pubertal maturation, and environmental conditions (altitude and regions of residence). A population sample of 6,200 clinically healthy boys (0–19 years) was examined and the presence of acne was determined. Height, weight, testicular volumes, penile length and circumference, as well as pubic hair were also measured. The prevalence of moderate and severe acne in the whole group was 7.74 %, while in the age group 12–19 years, it was 19.31 %. Twelve–15-year-old boys with acne were taller and heavier than the ones without. They also had increased penile length and circumference as well as larger testicular volumes. Somatometric and pubertal characteristics of 17–19-year-old boys with and without acne were similar. The prevalence of the disease did not differ between the rural and urban inhabitants. However, the acne frequency decreased with the increasing of the altitude where the boys lived. Conclusions: Our results showed that the development of acne vulgaris in male adolescents was associated with an intensive growth and pubertal maturation, while obesity per se did not play an important role. Of particular interest was the association between the prevalence of acne and the altitude of residence.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Adityan B, Kumari R, Thappa DM (2009) Scoring systems in acne vulgaris. Indian J Dermatol Venereol Leprol 75:323–326

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  2. Arora MK, Yadav A, Saini V (2011) Role of hormones in acne vulgaris. Clin Biochem 44:1035–1040

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  3. Ballanger F, Baudry P, N'Guyen JM, Khammari A, Dreno B (2006) Heredity: a prognostic factor for acne. Dermatology 212:145–149

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  4. Bechelli LM, Haddad N, Pimenta WP, Pagnano PM, Melchior E Jr, Fregnan RC, Zanin LC, Arenas A (1981) Epidemiological survey of skin diseases in schoolchildren living in the Purus Valley (Acre State, Amazonia, Brazil). Dermatologica 163:78–93

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  5. Bellew S, Thiboutot D, Del Rosso JQ (2011) Pathogenesis of acne vulgaris: what's new, what's interesting and what may be clinically relevant. J Drugs Dermatol 10:582–585

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  6. Burnett KF, Kleiman ME (1994) Psychological characteristics of adolescent steroid users. Adolescence 29:81–89

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  7. Cordain L, Lindeberg S, Hurtado M, Hill K, Eaton SB, Brand-Miller J (2002) Acne vulgaris: a disease of Western civilization. Arch Dermatol 138:1584–1590

    Google Scholar 

  8. Davidovici BB, Wolf R (2010) The role of diet in acne: facts and controversies. Clin Dermatol 28:12–16

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  9. Di Landro A, Cazzaniga S, Parazzini F, Ingordo V, Cusano F, Atzori L, Cutrì FT, Musumeci ML, Zinetti C, Pezzarossa E, Bettoli V, Caproni M, Lo Scocco G, Bonci A, Bencini P, Naldi L, GISED Acne Study Group (2012) Family history, body mass index, selected dietary factors, menstrual history, and risk of moderate to severe acne in adolescents and young adults. J Am Acad Dermatol 67:1129–1135

    Google Scholar 

  10. Freyre E, Rebaza RM, Sami DA, Lozada CP (1998) The prevalence of facial acne in Peruvian adolescents and its relation to their ethnicity. J Adolesc Health 22:480–484

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  11. Ghodsi SZ, Orawa H, Zouboulis CC (2009) Prevalence, severity, and severity risk factors of acne in high school pupils: a community-based study. J Invest Dermatol 129:2136–2141

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  12. Gonzales GF, Ortiz I (1994) Age at menarche at sea level and high altitude in Peruvian women of different ethnic background. Am J Hum Biol 6:637–640

    Article  Google Scholar 

  13. Halvorsen JA, Dalgard F, Thoresen M, Bjertness E, Lien L (2009) Is the association between acne and mental distress influenced by diet? Results from a cross-sectional population study among 3775 late adolescents in Oslo, Norway. BMC Publ Health 9:340–347

    Article  Google Scholar 

  14. Halvorsen JA, Vleugels RA, Bjertness E, Lien L (2012) A population-based study of acne and body mass index in adolescents. Arch Dermatol 148:131–132

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  15. Jeremy AH, Holland DB, Roberts SG, Thomson KF, Cunliffe WJ (2003) Inflammatory events are involved in acne lesion initiation. J Invest Dermatol 121:20–27

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  16. Kilkenny M, Merlin K, Plunkett A, Marks R (1998) The prevalence of common skin conditions in Australian school students: 3. Acne vulgaris. Br J Dermatol 139:840–845

    Google Scholar 

  17. Kumanov P, Deepinder F, Robeva R, Tomova A, Li J, Agarwal A (2007) Relationship of adolescent gynecomastia with varicocele and somatometric parameters: a cross-sectional study in 6200 healthy boys. J Adolesc Health 41:126–131

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  18. Kumanov P, Robeva R, Tomova A (2008) Adolescent varicocele: who is at risk? Pediatrics 121:e53–e57

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  19. Lucky AW, Biro FM, Huster GA, Morrison JA, Elder N (1991) Acne vulgaris in early adolescent boys: correlations with pubertal maturation and age. Arch Dermatol 127:210–216

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  20. Marshall W, Tanner JM (1968) Growth and physiological development during adolescence. Annu Rev Med 19:283–300

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  21. Melnik BC, Schmitz G (2009) Role of insulin, insulin-like growth factor-1, hyperglycaemic food and milk consumption in the pathogenesis of acne vulgaris. Exp Dermatol 18:833–841

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  22. Nijsten T, Spuls P, Stern RS (2008) STROBE: a beacon for observational studies. Arch Dermatol 144:1200–1204

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  23. Revuz J, Pawin H, Poli F, Faure M, Chivot M, Beylot C, Dreno B (2008) The advantage of establishing homogeneous patient groups: is it worth isolating ‘juvenile acne of the face’? J Eur Acad Dermatol Venereol 22:1429–1434

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  24. Schnopp C, Mempel M (2011) Acne vulgaris in children and adolescents. Minerva Pediatr 63:293–304

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  25. Shen Y, Wang T, Zhou C, Wang X, Ding X, Tian S, Liu Y, Peng G, Xue S, Zhou J, Wang R, Meng X, Pei G, Bai Y, Liu Q, Li H, Zhang J (2012) Prevalence of acne vulgaris in Chinese adolescents and adults: a community-based study of 17345 subjects in six cities. Acta Derm Venereol 92:40–44

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  26. Smithard A, Glazebrook C, Williams HC (2001) Acne prevalence, knowledge about acne and psychological morbidity in mid adolescence: a community based study. Br J Dermatol 145:274–279

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  27. Stathakis V, Kilkenny M, Marks R (1997) Descriptive epidemiology of acne vulgaris in the community. Australas J Dermatol 38:115–123

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  28. Tanner JM, Whitehouse RH (1976) Clinical longitudinal standards for height, weight, height velocity, weight velocity, and stages of puberty. Arch Dis Child 51:170–179

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  29. Tomova A, Deepender F, Robeva R, Lalabonova H, Agarwal A (2010) Growth and development of male external genitalia. A cross-sectional study of 6200 males aged 0 to 19 years. Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med 164:1152–1157

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  30. Veith WB, Silverberg NB (2011) The association of acne vulgaris with diet. Cutis 88:84–91

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  31. Williams HC, Dellavalle RP, Garner S (2012) Acne vulgaris. Lancet 379:361–372

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  32. Wu FC, Farley TM, Peregoudov A, Waites GM (1996) Effects of testosterone enanthate in normal men: experience from a multicenter contraceptive efficacy study. World Health Organization Task Force on Methods for the Regulation of Male Fertility. Fertil Steril 65:626–636

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  33. Yahya H (2009) Acne vulgaris in Nigerian adolescents—prevalence, severity, beliefs, perceptions and practices. Int J Dermatol 48:498–505

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

The authors express their gratitude to Professor M. Vucov for the statistical analysis of the data and to all children, adolescents, and their families for participation in the study. The study was supported only by the Medical University of Sofia. No other project support or funding was received.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Clinical Center of Endocrinology and Gerontology, Medical University of Sofia, Faculty of Medicine, 2, Zdrave Str., 1431, Sofia, Bulgaria

    Ralitsa Robeva, Analia Tomova & Philip Kumanov

  2. Medical University of Sofia, Faculty of Medicine, Sofia, Bulgaria

    Yavor Assyov

Authors
  1. Ralitsa Robeva
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Yavor Assyov
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Analia Tomova
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Philip Kumanov
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Ralitsa Robeva.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Robeva, R., Assyov, Y., Tomova, A. et al. Acne vulgaris is associated with intensive pubertal development and altitude of residence—a cross-sectional population-based study on 6,200 boys. Eur J Pediatr 172, 465–471 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00431-012-1907-1

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00431-012-1907-1

Keywords

Search

Navigation