Prevalence and cutaneous comorbidity of acne vulgaris in the working population

TY - JOUR

T1 - Prevalence and cutaneous comorbidity of acne vulgaris in the working population

AU - Kirsten, Natalia

AU - Mohr, Nicole

AU - Augustin, Matthias

N1 - Publisher Copyright: © 2021 Kirsten et al.

PY - 2021

Y1 - 2021

N2 - Purpose: Although acne vulgaris (AV) is a common disease and can persist into adulthood, there are few large-scale epidemiological studies on the prevalence of acne vulgaris in adults. The aim of our study was to characterise the epidemiology and comorbidity of acne vulgaris in working adults in Germany. Patients and Methods: Within the framework of a cross-sectional study, a total of 161,269 employees underwent dermatological whole-body examinations in more than 500 German companies between 2001 and 2016. Point prevalence rates for acne vulgaris and further skin diseases and their 95% confidence intervals were calculated and differences between parti-cipants with and without acne vulgaris were tested with chi-squared tests. Results: Mean age was 43.2 years ± 10.9, 55.5% were male. In total, n = 5311 people (3.3%) with acne vulgaris were identified. Prevalence decreased by age. Controlling for age and gender, acne was significantly associated with folliculitis (OR = 1.91; CI: 1.76–2.07), contact dermatitis (OR = 1.74; CI: 1.08–2.81), rosacea (OR = 1.74; CI: 1.40–2.15), pyo-derma (OR = 1.58; 1.22–2.06), seborrheic dermatitis (OR = 1.47; CI: 1.27–1.71), hand eczema (OR = 1.34; CI: 1.00–1.76), verruca vulgaris plantaris (OR = 1.29; CI: 1.09–1.51), tinea pedis (OR = 1.27; CI: 1.10–1.47), spider veins (OR = 1.26; CI: 1.16–1.38) and telangiectasia (OR = 1.15; CI: 1.02–1.30). Conclusion: These data underline the importance of acne vulgaris in the adult population. Further studies to better understand the pathophysiology of AV and its comorbidity in different phases of adulthood would be desirable to develop appropriate guidelines and therapy concepts.

AB - Purpose: Although acne vulgaris (AV) is a common disease and can persist into adulthood, there are few large-scale epidemiological studies on the prevalence of acne vulgaris in adults. The aim of our study was to characterise the epidemiology and comorbidity of acne vulgaris in working adults in Germany. Patients and Methods: Within the framework of a cross-sectional study, a total of 161,269 employees underwent dermatological whole-body examinations in more than 500 German companies between 2001 and 2016. Point prevalence rates for acne vulgaris and further skin diseases and their 95% confidence intervals were calculated and differences between parti-cipants with and without acne vulgaris were tested with chi-squared tests. Results: Mean age was 43.2 years ± 10.9, 55.5% were male. In total, n = 5311 people (3.3%) with acne vulgaris were identified. Prevalence decreased by age. Controlling for age and gender, acne was significantly associated with folliculitis (OR = 1.91; CI: 1.76–2.07), contact dermatitis (OR = 1.74; CI: 1.08–2.81), rosacea (OR = 1.74; CI: 1.40–2.15), pyo-derma (OR = 1.58; 1.22–2.06), seborrheic dermatitis (OR = 1.47; CI: 1.27–1.71), hand eczema (OR = 1.34; CI: 1.00–1.76), verruca vulgaris plantaris (OR = 1.29; CI: 1.09–1.51), tinea pedis (OR = 1.27; CI: 1.10–1.47), spider veins (OR = 1.26; CI: 1.16–1.38) and telangiectasia (OR = 1.15; CI: 1.02–1.30). Conclusion: These data underline the importance of acne vulgaris in the adult population. Further studies to better understand the pathophysiology of AV and its comorbidity in different phases of adulthood would be desirable to develop appropriate guidelines and therapy concepts.

KW - Acne vulgaris

KW - Comorbidities

KW - Epidemiology

KW - Inflammation

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85117140233&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.2147/CCID.S322876

DO - 10.2147/CCID.S322876

M3 - SCORING: Journal article

AN - SCOPUS:85117140233

VL - 14

SP - 1393

EP - 1400

JO - CLIN COSMET INV DERM

JF - CLIN COSMET INV DERM

SN - 1178-7015

ER -