Who Gets Acne?

Acne treatment with light is becoming a popular option with many sufferers today in favor of traditional creams and could one day become the standard treatment for this condition. It would however be nice to see an end to this age old infliction, so just who gets acne nowadays?

The simple answer to the question of 'Who gets acne?' is that just about everyone will get acne sooner or later, but a look at just who get acne and when makes interesting reading.

Hormones play an important role in acne and, in particular, one class of hormones known as androgens start the process rolling during puberty which tends to start at about the age of 11 in girls and 13 in boys.

Once acne starts to develop it tends to be more severe in boys, as they produce considerably more androgen hormones than girls, and about forty percent of all teen acne is severe enough to merit treatment by a dermatologist.

Later in life however the balance tends to swing away from the boys and in young and mature adults acne is more often seen in women than in men. So, between the ages of about 12 and 24 about eighty five percent of the population of the US will suffer from acne with the numbers being roughly the same between boys and girls, but with boys tending to suffer more sever attacks. After the age of 24 however acne is more commonly seen in women.

Acne is most commonly seen on the face, although about twenty-five percent of sufferers will also experience outbreaks on other parts of the body, particularly the neck and back.

In women, studies suggest that the monthly hormonal cycle also has an effect on the occurrence of acne and approximately forty-four percent of women between the ages of 20 and 32 will suffer from premenstrual related acne, with this figure increasing for women over the age of 32.

One very interesting and little known fact is that acne can occur at any age and even babies often get small whiteheads. In this case acne normally disappears without the need for any treatment, but it can last for anything from about 3 to 6 weeks. Acne can also appear in people over the age of 50 and, in these cases, it is often caused in part by taking certain drugs, such as corticosteroids or phenobarbital.

Finally, acne affects people of all races and, although it is more prevalent among Caucasians, Asians, Hispanics, blacks, and others all suffer from acne from time to time.

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