What is acne?

The word acne ultimately comes from the Greek akmḗ, meaning “facial eruption.” The first records of the word acne come from the 1700s. The skin condition acne comes from the clogging of the skin’s sebaceous glands.

Acne is a common skin condition where the pores of your skin become blocked by hair, sebum (an oily substance), bacteria and dead skin cells. Those blockages produce blackheads, whiteheads, nodules and other types of pimples. If you have acne, know you’re not alone. It’s the most common skin condition that people experience. It’s estimated that 80% of people ages 11 to 30 will have at least a mild form of acne, and most people are affected by it at some point in their lives.1

What are the different types of acne?
Acne can take several forms. They include:

  • Blackheads: Open bumps on the skin that fill with excess oil and dead skin. They look as if dirt has deposited in the bump, but the dark spots are actually caused by an irregular light reflection off the clogged follicle.
  • Whiteheads: Bumps that remain closed by oil and dead skin.
  • Papules: Small red or pink bumps that become inflamed.
  • Pustules: Pimples containing pus. They look like whiteheads surrounded by red rings. They can cause scarring if picked or scratched.
  • Fungal acne (pityrosporum folliculitis): This type occurs when an excess of yeast develops in the hair follicles. They can become itchy and inflamed.
  • Nodules: Solid pimples that are deep in your skin. They are large and painful.
  • Cysts: Pus-filled pimples. These can cause scars.

Prevalence
Acne is estimated to affect 9.4% of the global population, making it the eighth most prevalent disease worldwide. Epidemiological studies have demonstrated that acne is most common in postpubescent teens, with boys most frequently affected, particularly with more severe forms of the disease. 2

P rate of acne in Pakistan was found to be 5%.Prevalence of acne vulgaris was found to be 14.47% in female undergraduate medical students of Rawalpindi and Islamabad.3

Various studies on acne prevalence in adolescents show a frequency ranging from 30% to 100%, and have reported up to 91% of male and 79% of female teenagers being affected by acne.4

In Pakistan acne accounts for about one-fifth of all visits to dermatologists and is common in individuals aged 13-35 years. Despite the tendency for acne to be treated as a minor ailment, patients with this condition require attention5
A cross-sectional study was conducted during the month of October 2020, 291 among undergraduate medical students from eight medical colleges of Lahore, selected through simple random sampling, on both male and female undergraduate medical students. A total of 213 (73.2%) prevalence of acne was found among the participants who responded6

An observational study was conducted at Hyderabad, Sindh, Pakistan, from August, 2007 to October, 2007. Four intermediate and degree colleges of the Hyderabad city were randomly selected and visited. The students were examined with regard to the type and severity of skin disorders. The findings were recorded on a pre-structured proforma. Results A total of 1350 students were examined. Their ages ranged from 16-24 years. Acne was the most common disorder seen in 59.5% of subjects followed by hair loss (59%), pigmentary disorders (36.3%), dandruff (26.1), hirsutism (20.9%), ephelides (6.4%), xerosis (2.9%), pityriasis versicolor (2.9%), pruritus (2.3%) and eczema (2.1%). 7

References

  1. Longshore SJ, Hollandsworth K. Acne vulgaris: one treatment does not fit all. Cleveland Clinic journal of medicine. 2003 Aug 1;70(8):670-2.
  2. Tan JK, Bhate K. A global perspective on the epidemiology of acne. British Journal of Dermatology. 2015 Jul;172:3-12.
  3. Babar O, Mobeen A. Prevalence and psychological impact of acne vulgaris in female undergraduate medical students of Rawalpindi and Islamabad, Pakistan. Cureus. 2019 Sep 22;11(9).
  4. Tan HH, Tan AW, Barkham T, Yan XY, Zhu M. Community-based study of acne vulgaris in adolescents in Singapore. Br J Dermatol 2007; 157: 547-51.
  5. Kapadia N, Talib A. Acne treated successfully with azithromycin. Int J Dermatol 2004; 43: 766-7.
  6. Raza A, Munib A, Yousaf P, Humayun A, Khalid A, Riaz A, Waseem M, Asad F, Zulfiqar F, Cheema AA. Prevalence and Psychological Impact of Acne on Quality of Life among Undergraduate Medical students of Lahore, Pakistan. Journal of Sheikh Zayed Medical College (JSZMC). 2021 Jun 30;12(02):13-.
  7. Bajaj DR, Devrajani BR, Ghouri RA, Matlani BL. Pattern of skin disorders among adolescent female students at Hyderabad, Sindh. Journal of Pakistan Association of Dermatologists. 2009;19(2):79-85.