Women Smokers More Likely To Have Non-inflammatory Acne

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Main Category: Smoking / Quit Smoking
Also Included In: Dermatology
Article Date: 18 Sep 2007 - 16:00 PDT

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Non-inflammatory acne means your face will have blocked pores, large white heads and small cysts - if you are a woman and you smoke you run a much greater risk of developing this type of acne, say researchers from the San Gallicano Dermatological Institute, Rome, Italy.

You can read about this in the British Journal of Dermatology.

The scientists carried out a study involving 1,000 women. They found that 42% of women who smoke have non-inflammatory acne, while non-smoking women run a 10% chance. The researchers stress that the link is not certain, as other factors may be involved. However, it is well possible non-inflammatory acne might be another hazard for smokers.

The scientists decided to do the study on women because it seems that females are more susceptible to non-inflammatory acne (NIA) than men. 30% of the 1,000 women were smokers.

They also found that levels of vitamin E skin secretions among the smokers were significantly lower than the non-smokers'. Women who had had acne during their adolescence and smoked ran a four-fold chance of having NIA as adults compared to non-smoking women who had had acne during their teens.

NIA can also be triggered by environmental factors, such as being exposed to high levels of smoke and/or steam, as might be the case in a kitchen.

'Smoker's acne': a new clinical entity?
B. Capitanio, J.L. Sinagra, M. Ottaviani, V. Bordignon, A. Amantea, M. Picardo
British Journal of Dermatology (OnlineEarly Articles).
doi:10.1111/j.1365-2133.2007.08164.x
Click here to view abstract online

Written by: Christian Nordqvist
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