New regulations for oral contraceptive prescription in France in 2013: what is the impact on adult female acne?
In 2012, a young French woman lodged a complaint against a pharmaceutical company having suffered a cerebral stroke. The French health authority recommended all prescribers of hormonal contraception (HCP) to favour second-generation HCP. To evaluate the consequences of these recommendations on female acne. A prospective multicentre study using a standardised questionnaire completed by 1,724 women. The mean age was 26.57 years; 58.7% of the women had changed their HCP during the last 12 months. The initial ratio of first or second/third or fourth-generation drugs was 5.5%/82.9% which changed after the recommendations to 70.6%/29.4%. Among the patients who switched from third or fourth to first or second-generation drugs, 83.9% considered that their acne had worsened (p<0.0001). In those patients who received a local acne treatment, 72.1% had additional systemic treatment. This study confirms the important rise in prescriptions of first or second-generation HCP. This switch has resulted in a significant increase in acne, requiring treatment for the large majority of patients, thus confirming the role of a hormonal factor in female acne.
Dermatologist, Fontenay-aux-Roses.
Stéphanie
S
Leclerc-Mercier
Laboratoire Dermatologique, La Roche-Posay, Asnières-sur-Seine.
Virginie
V
Buisson
Department of Dermatology, University of Nantes, France.
Brigitte
B
Dreno
D000152:Acne Vulgaris / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000453:epidemiology*; D000328:Adult; D003278:Contraceptives, Oral, Hormonal; D018450:Disease Progression; D011307:Drug Prescriptions; D057915:Drug Substitution / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D005602:France / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D007880:Legislation, Drug; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult
D003278:Contraceptives, Oral, Hormonal
France; acne; contraception; female; hormonal