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Young men with acne more prone to insulin resistance

Postadolescent males with acne had a higher prevalence of insulin resistance compared with control patients, according to study results recently published in JAMA Dermatology.

Researchers in India conducted a cross-sectional study on 100 male patients aged 20 to 32 years (mean age, 22.7 years) and 100 age-matched controls without acne (mean age, 23.7 years) from a dermatology outpatient department.

“Postadolescent males were recruited only to negate the effects of physiologic insulin resistance that are seen at the time of puberty and adolescence,” the researchers wrote.

The Global Acne Grading System was used to divide patients with acne into four individual severity groups with 25 patients each.

The modified National Cholesterol Education Programme Adult Treatment Panel III criteria were used to diagnose metabolic syndrome. Homeostasis Model Assessment-Insulin Resistance (HOMA-IR) was used to measure insulin resistance, considered a HOMA-IR value greater than 2.5.

The patients with acne had a significantly higher prevalence of insulin resistance: 22% compared with 11% in the control cohort (P = .03). There was a comparable prevalence of metabolic syndrome: 17% among patients with acne and 9% in the control cohort (P = .09).

The acne severity groups did not have a significantly different prevalences of insulin resistance and metabolic syndrome.

The very severe acne cohort had a higher mean weight compared with the patients with mild acne (P = .02).

“Our cross-sectional study … was prompted by the common finding of acne in women with polycystic ovarian syndrome, an endocrinologic abnormality in which insulin resistance may be causal for development of acne,” the researchers wrote.

“Postadolescent male patients with acne are more prone to have higher mean HOMA-IR values, higher mean fasting plasma glucose levels, higher prevalence of insulin resistance, and higher mean [systolic BP] and [diastolic BP] compared with controls,” the researchers concluded. “Insulin resistance may be a stage of prediabetes and the patients may develop hyperinsulinemia or type 2 diabetes in the future. These patients should be followed up to determine whether they develop conditions associated with insulin resistance.” – by Bruce Thiel

Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.