title: Quantitative documentation of a premenstrual flare of facial acne in adult women.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To quantitatively document the presence and extent of a late luteal (premenstrual) acne flare in adult women.
  
  
  METHODS
  Case series.
  
  
  METHODS
  Subjects were recruited from a general community dermatology practice and by advertising.
  
  
  METHODS
  Adult women 18 to 44 years old with normal periods who were receiving no treatment for their acne.
  
  
  METHODS
  Acne lesion counts were surveyed over the follicular and luteal phases of 2 full menstrual cycles.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Most (63%) of these women showed a 25% premenstrual increase in the number of inflammatory acne lesions.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This is the first quantitative documentation of the presence and degree of premenstrual acne flares in adult women.
authors.affiliation: Dermatology Research Associates, Cincinnati, Ohio 45230, USA. dermresearch@fuse.net
authors.forename: Anne W
authors.initials: AW
authors.lastname: Lucky
mesh_terms: D000152:Acne Vulgaris / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology*; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D017677:Age Distribution; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008597:Menstrual Cycle / Q000502:physiology; D010507:Periodicity; D011293:Premenstrual Syndrome / Q000175:diagnosis*; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012494:Sampling Studies; D012720:Severity of Illness Index