Evaluation of seasonal variation in acne vulgaris

Acne vulgaris is one of the most common skin diseases in adolescents and young adults. Although acne do not physically disable the patient, it can cause significant psychological morbidities. The disease etiology is not fully understood; however, there are several factors involved in the pathogenesis. The aim of this study is to investigate the seasonal variation of acne vulgaris in patients referred to skin clinic of Shohaday-e-Tajrish Hospital in Tehran in 2017.

This study was a cross-sectional study in patients diagnosed with acne vulgaris by a dermatologist. One-hundred three eligible patients were enrolled in the study. The severity of acne was graded as mild, moderate or severe. In addition to the demographic data, information on the acne severity and changes in the acne severity in summer and winter had been recorded.

The average age of 103 acne patients was 24.68±6.77 years. Sixty-eight patients were female and 35 cases were male. Fifteen (14.6%) patients had mild acne, 55 (53.4%) cases had moderate acne and 33 (32%) subjects had severe disease. In the summer, symptoms improved in 34 (33%) patients, worsened in 18 (17.5%) patients, and remained unchanged in 51 (49.5%) cases. In winter, symptoms improved in 15 (14.6%) patients, worsened in 37 (35.9%) patients, and remained unchanged in 51 (49.5%) patients (P=0.001). There was no significant relationship between changes in the severity of acne in winter or summer with age, age of the disease onset or duration or severity of acne (P>0.05).

In the present study, the number of patients with acne exacerbation in winter was significantly higher than that in summer. This may highlight the important role of winter in increasing the acne severity; however, more comprehensive studies with more sample sizes are still needed in different geographical areas.