Teen Health Current Topics in Teen Health

Teens' Stress Level and Acne Severity Linked

(iVillage Total Health) - Students who get nervous taking tests in school may have something besides their grades to worry about. Research shows that the stress and anxiety caused by mid-term exams can increase the severity of pimple outbreaks in teens.

A study conducted by researchers at the Wake Forest University School of Medicine found that teenagers under high levels of stress were 23 percent more likely to have a severe case of a type of acne called acne papulosa, commonly known as pimples.

Acne is the most common skin disorder. It affects the hair follicles and the glands that produce skin oil (sebum), causing clogs in the follicles and the buildup of sebum, which may lead to infection and inflammation. Acne is most common in teenagers, but may affect people of any age. Although acne typically goes away by age 30, it may persist much longer.

According to the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases, nearly 85 percent of all people between the ages of 12 and 24 develop acne and nearly 17 million people in the United States have the condition.

Acne is most common in teenagers and usually occurs during puberty between the ages of 10 and 13, when hormones increase in both males and females. This increase in hormones causes the sebaceous glands to become bigger and more active.

The Wake Forest researchers studied 94 adolescents in Singapore, which was selected because of its tropical climate with consistent year-round weather. The researchers said sebum oil production in the skin may vary depending on temperature and humidity.

The average age of the participants was 14.9 years. Students completed a 14-item questionnaire measuring their stress level just before their mid-year school examinations and then during summer recess. The mid-year exams were important determinants of the students' long-term career prospects and are considered by many to be a significant source of psychological stress for the teens.

Researchers determined the severity of the acne outbreaks by classifying the type of acne and number of lesions. They found that 92 percent of the girls and 95 percent of the boys in the study had acne. However, there was no significant difference in sebum production between the high-stress exam period and the low-stress summer break, suggesting that factors than other sebum may cause the increased severity of pimples. Levels of stress were not linked severity of another type of acne, whiteheads or blackheads.

"Acne significantly affects physical and psychosocial well-being, so it is important to understand the interplay between the factors that exacerbate acne," Dr. Gil Yosipovitch, the study's lead author, said in a press release. "Our study suggests a significant association between stress and severity of acne."

Results of the study were published in the March issue of Acta Derm Venereol, a Swedish medical journal.

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