Why do some women have acne in adulthood?
- A diet low in fruit and vegetables can trigger acne in adults, research has found
- While high stress levels may also be responsible, according to Italian scientists
- It’s believed 5% of women over 25 suffer from the skin condition
Having acne as a teenager is something many people have had to endure.
But after battling both the skin condition and nasty comments from others, most expect their skin to stay clear for life.
However, having a poor diet could cause fresh outbreaks in adulthood – with women particularly vulnerable, experts claim.
A diet low in fruit and vegetables can trigger acne, while high stress levels may also be responsible, new research suggests.
Having a poor diet could cause an acne outbreak – regardless of someone’s age, experts claim
It is estimated that around 80 per cent of people aged between 11 and 30 have been affected by acne at some point.
Despite being most common in teenagers, who often see their skin clear up, it can continue into adult life. While some may not encounter their first bout until growing older.
Around five per cent of women and one per cent of men over the age of 25 suffer from spots and oily skin.
Women tend to get adult acne more often than men due to changes in hormone levels causing imbalances, dermatologists say.
A diet low in fruit and vegetables can trigger the skin condition, while high stress levels may also be responsible, new research suggests
To determine any risk factors for adult acne, Italian researchers assessed 500 women who were older than 25 – just under half were sufferers.
They found women were twice as likely to be plagued by the condition if they only ate vegetables for three days a week.
While those who reported high levels of stress were found to be three times as likely to have an outbreak.
And family history was discovered to have an impact on the likelihood of suffering from the condition in adulthood.
However, the findings, published in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology, don’t prove fresh produce ward off acne, according to dermatologists.
Other foods with a high ‘glycemic index’ (GI), such as white bread, chips and rice could be responsible as they cause blood sugar to surge.
This is known to lead to inflammation and can increase levels of hormones responsible for the activity of oil glands in the skin.
Dr Debra Jaliman, an assistant professor of dermatology at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, said: ‘We see that people who have a diet of junk food tend to break out more.’
