Source: Int Pediatr  |  Posted 9 years ago

Genetic factors far outweigh environmental influences on the development of acne in women, investigators report.

This finding should stimulate a search for genes that might lead to new therapies for the condition, they write.

The investigators, at the Medical College of Georgia, Augusta, Georgia, Cancer Research U.K., and St Thomas' Hospital, in London, England, noted that although clinical experience indicated that acne appeared to run in families, few studies have looked into its genetic basis.

The investigators recruited 458 pairs of monozygotic twins and 1,099 pairs of dizygotic twins, all women, mean age 46 years, to study the relative contribution of genetic and environmental factors on liability to acne.

Potential risk factors in twins with and without acne were also assessed in a nested cross-sectional design.

Among the twins who reported a history of acne (14 percent), genetic modelling using acne scores showed that 81 percent of the variance of the disease was attributable to additive genetic effects. The remaining 19 percent was attributed to unshared environmental factors.

Of potential risk factors tested in 400 acne twins and 2,414 unaffected twins, only apolipoprotein A1 serum levels were significantly lower in acne twins.

Family history of acne was also significantly associated with an increased risk.

There were no significant differences between twins with and without acne for weight, body mass index, height, birth weight, hair thinning and reproductive factors, as well as cholesterol, triglycerides, high-density lipoprotein and glucose levels.

Lower serum levels of apolipoprotein A1 in acne twins were also confirmed in analysis of acne-discordant twin pairs.