ACNE VULGARIS

Introduction

Acne vulgaris is an inflammatory disease of the sebaceous (oil) glands in the skin; characterized by papules or pustules (pus containing) or comedones (blackheads).

Alternative name
Pimples, Zits


Epidemiology

• Acne vulgaris is nearly auniversal skin disease affecting 35-90% of the adolescent population inwesternized societies.  Acne affects 40 - 50 million people inthe United States.
• The mean onset of acne is 11 years in girls and 12years in boys, which possibly reflects the earlier onset of puberty in girls.Acne commonly shows a premenstrual increase in women. There is a greaterseverity of acne in males than in females in the late teens, which iscompatible with androgens being a potent stimulus to sebum secretion.
• In India,prevalence data from a dermatology clinic in a teaching hospital reported acnein 50.6% of boys and 38.13% of girls in the age group 12-17 years.