I looked in the current medical journal literature on Medline to find
studies of relevance to your query. I only found one study specific
to teenage girls (see ref 4 below). However, a number of other
studies in women indicate that there is a link between some of the
factors you mention, which would therefore also hold in the case of
adolescent girls and young women.
1. Experimental Dermatology 2002 June, Vol. 11(no. 3) pp 241-7
Sebaceous glands in acne patients express high levels of neutral
endopeptidase.
Toyoda M, Nakamura M, Makino T, Kagoura M, Morohashi M.
Department of Dermatology, Faculty of Medicine, Toyama Medical and
Pharmaceutical University, Toyama, Japan.
The authors say “Although it is known that exacerbation of acne
results from emotional stress, the nature of the association between
stress and acne remains unclear”. They go on to describe a study in
patients and in the laboratory that offers a potential explanation for
why acne is made worse by stress.
2. Journal of the European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology
2001 Nov; Vol 15(no. 6) pp 541-5
An epidemiological study of acne in female adults: results of a survey
conducted in France.
Poli F, Dreno B, Verschoore M.
Hopital Henri Mondor, Service de Dermatologie, Creteil, France.
Although this study was carried out in older women aged 25-20 yr, it
may be of interest to you, because it found that 78% of acne suffers
became worse in the premenstrual period, and 50% showed a link between
acne and stress.
3. Not all authors agree about a link between stress and acne:
Australasian Journal of Dermatology 2001 May Vol 42(no 2) pp 98-101
Perceptions of acne vulgaris in final year medical student written
examination answers.
Green J, Sinclair RD.
Department of Medicine (Dermatology), The University of Melbourne, St
Vincent's Hospital, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
These authors are convinced that to claim links between acne and
stress, diet, lifestyle and personal hygiene is “an erroneous
misconception”. However, among the articles I retrieved, this appears
to be a minority opinion.
4. Human Reproduction 1998 Aug; Vol 13(no 8) pp 2252-60
Relationship of the menstrual cycle pattern in 14-17 year old old
adolescents with gynaecological age, body mass index and historical
parameters.
van Hooff MH, Voorhorst FJ, Kaptein MB, Hirasing RA, Koppenaal C,
Schoemaker J.
Research Institute for Endocrinology, Reproduction and Metabolism,
Division of Reproductive Endocrinology and Fertility, Medical Centre
Free University, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
These authors found a link between acne and oligomenorrhoea
(infrequent menstruation) in teenage girls.
5. I have not found any specific references about acne and exercise.
However, there is an extensive body of literature on the menstrual
irregularities that occur in sportswomen. For example:
Endocrinological Investigation 2001 Nov Vol. 24(no 10) pp 823-32
Exercise-related female reproductive dysfunction.
Cannavo S, Curto L, Trimarchi F.
Department of Medicine and Pharmacology, Section of Endocrinology,
University of Messina, Italy
The authors state: “Clinical or biochemical abnormalities of gonadal
function, consisting of delayed puberty, luteal phase deficiency,
oligo-amenorrhea or anovulation, occur in girls and women
participating in strenuous sports.”
Any intensive programme of exercise would have the same effects. If
the link between acne and menstrual problems is due to hormonal
defects, which seems to be the most likely explanation, it is
reasonable to assume that exercise-induced menstrual irregularity will
also affect acne.
6. Journal of Investigative Dermatology 2001 Aug Vol 117(no 2) pp
309-17
Stress-induced changes in skin barrier function in healthy women.
Altemus M, Rao B, Dhabhar FS, Ding W, Granstein RD.
Department of Psychiatry, Weill Medical College, Cornell University,
New York, New York 10021, USA
This study subjected female volunteers to one night of sleep
deprivation, to a 3-day exercise protocol and to psychosocial stress
induced by an interview in the laboratory. They concluded: “These
results suggest that acute psychosocial and sleep deprivation stress
disrupts skin barrier function omeostasis in women, and that this
disruption may be related to stress-induced changes in cytokine
secretion.” In this study, exercise did not have an effect.
However, a 3-day regime does not really compare with a long-term
intensive exercise programme.
If the barrier function, and therefore the integrity, of the skin is
compromised, this will have a negative effect on existing skin
disorders and also on the occurrence of new disorders. This is
especially the case with respect to skin disorders such as acne, which
are caused by microorganisms.
7. Obstetrics Gynecology 1998 Nov Vol 92(no 5) pp 757-65
Vulvovaginal candidiasis: clinical manifestations, risk factors,
management algorithm.
Eckert LO, Hawes SE, Stevens CE, Koutsky LA, Eschenbach DA, Holmes KK.
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Center for AIDS and STD,
University of Washington, Seattle, USA.
The authors found that the risk factors for finding yeasts in vaginal
smears are: condom use, being in the second half of the menstrual
cycle, sexual intercourse more than four times per month, recent
antibiotic use, young age, past gonococcal infection, and absence of
current gonorrhea or bacterial vaginal infection.
8. Epidemiology 1996 Mar; Vol 7(no 2) pp182-7
Risk factors for vulvovaginal candidiasis: a case-control study among
university students.
Geiger AM, Foxman B.
Department of Epidemiology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
48109-2029, USA
This study in students did not find that antibiotics increased the
risk of vaginal thrush, and neither did ordinary intercourse as such.
The factors that did were receiving oral sex twice or more in the
previous 2 weeks ; oral contraceptive use; spermicide use; previous
thrush infections; and being of non-white race.
I did not find any reports of an association between vaginal yeast
infection and menstrual disorders.
9. Finally, I did not find any reports of a link between vaginal
yeast infection and acne. There is a relationship in the opposite
direction, but only as a result of the treatment that is commonly
offered for severe acne. The use of antibiotics such as tetracycline
can increase the risk of developing thrush, as reported, for example
in:
Dermatologica 1972 Vol 145(no 5) pp 334-7
Susceptibility to infections during long-term treatment with
tetracyclines in acne vulgaris.
Bjornberg A, Roupe G.
Search strategy: On Medline
(http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi)
1. acne, sports; 2. acne, exercise; 3. acne, stress; 4. acne,
menstrual 5. acne; sleep 6. stress; sleep deprivation; 7. acne;
candidiasis; 8. tetracycline; candiasis 9. candidiasis, menstrual |
