Evaluation of Hormonal Factors in Acne Vulgaris and the Course of Acne Vulgaris Treatment with Contraceptive-Based Therapies in Young Adult Women

Acne vulgaris is a common chronic inflammatory skin disease, which is considered one of the diseases of civilization due to the significant influence of environmental factors on the severity and frequency of these lesions. The aim of this study was to evaluate the hormonal profile of patients before treatment and to assess selected hormonal parameters after treatment. Our first objective was to examine the correlation between the selected hormonal parameters and the severity of acne before treatment. Our second objective was to evaluate the impact of treatment with three therapies, as measured by the selected hormonal parameters and acne severity. Statistical calculations were performed using the R v.4.1.1 statistical calculation environment (IDE RStudio v. 1.4.1717) with a significance level for the statistical tests set at alpha = 0.05. The results showed that the women in the pre-treatment (T1) and control (C) groups had significant differences in testosterone, androstendione, FAI, SHBG, prolactin, ACTH, and cortisol concentrations. After treatment, there were still significant differences in testosterone, androstendione, FAI, and SHBG concentrations between the post-treatment (T2) and control groups. We concluded that testosterone, androstendione, and cortisol concentrations correlate with acne severity. Acne in adult women may be an important clinical marker of androgen excess syndrome and cannot be considered a transient symptom of puberty. The mainstay of acne treatment is contraceptive therapy (ethonylestradiol and drospirenone). In this study, we confirmed the effectiveness of three contraceptive-based treatments using hormonal parameters and acne severity.

Automated summary

This study evaluated the hormonal profile of acne vulgaris patients before and after treatment. The results showed a correlation between testosterone, androstendione, and cortisol concentrations and acne severity. Acne in adult women may indicate androgen excess syndrome. Contraceptive therapy is an effective treatment for acne.