Pollution and acne: is there a link?

Abstract

Jean Krutmann,1 Dominique Moyal,2 Wei Liu,3 Sanjiv Kandahari,4 Geun-Soo Lee,5 Noppakun Nopadon,6 Leihong Flora Xiang,7 Sophie Seité2 1IUF – Leibniz Research Institute for Environmental Medicine, Düsseldorf, Germany; 2La Roche Posay Dermatological Laboratories, Asnières, France; 3Department of Dermatology, The General Hospital of Air Force, PLA, Beijing, People’s Republic of China; 4Dr. Kandhari’s Skin & Dental Clinic, New Delhi, India; 5Drs. Woo and Hann Skin Center, Yongsan-gu, Seoul, Korea; 6Division of Dermatology, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Medicine, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand; 7Department of Dermatology, Huashan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, People’s Republic of China Abstract: In recent years, the critical role that inflammation may play in the development and progression of acne has become increasingly recognized. The prevalence of acne is similar between Asian and Caucasian women, but Asian women have a higher prevalence of inflammatory acne. They also report their symptoms exacerbate during periods of high air pollution. The objective of this study was to review the current evidence that links air pollution to worsening of acne symptoms. Firstly, a group of five Asian and three European scientists with expertise in Dermatology reviewed the current literature and described current acne treatment practices in their countries. During this activity, they identified the need for further epidemiological and clinical research. Secondly, additional studies ensued which provided evidence that acne symptoms might exacerbate in regions of high ambient air pollution. Based on these findings, the authors suggest that people with acne should protect the natural barrier function of their skin with emollients and ultraviolet (UV)A/UVB protection. Keywords: pollution, acne, Asia, epidemiology, pathophysiology

Keywords

• Pollution
• acne
• Asia
• epidemiology
• pathophysiology