---
title: What causes adult female acne and makes it worse? | Niyora
description: Family history of acne increases your risk of adult female acne, but diet, weight, and premenstrual flare do not. Severity is not related to any of these fact
url: https://niyora.com/research/papers/adult-female-acne-a-cross-sectional-study-of-diet-family-history-body-mass-index-2021/
---

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- What causes adult female acne and makes it worse?

Case-control study, 2021

# What causes adult female acne and makes it worse?

Family history of acne increases your risk of adult female acne, but diet, weight, and premenstrual flare do not. Severity is not related to any of these factors.

 Moderate study design

112 women age 25 and older, including 56 with adult acne and 56 healthy controls

## What they did

Cross-sectional case-control study of 112 women age 25 and older. Researchers clinically examined acne and asked women about their diet, family history of acne, weight, height, and whether their acne flares before their period.

## What they found

Of the 56 women with acne, 58.9% experienced premenstrual flare and 51.8% had a family history of acne. Family history of acne was a significant risk factor (p≤0.001). Diet and BMI were not risk factors. The severity of acne was not related to premenstrual flares, diet, BMI, or family history.

## What it means for you

If your mother or other family members had acne, you are more likely to develop it. What you eat and your weight do not appear to cause adult acne. Acne getting worse before your period does not mean your acne is more severe overall. The study was small with only 56 patients, and the control group was younger on average.

58.9%

had premenstrual acne flare

51.8%

had family history of acne

56

women with acne studied

## About the study

Original title Adult female acne: A cross-sectional study of diet, family history, body mass index, and premenstrual flare as risk factors and contributors to severity Authors Anaba EL, Oaku IR Journal International journal of women's dermatology Year 2021 Study design Case-control study Participants 112 What was tested None Open access Yes Read the paper [doi.org/10.1016/j.ijwd.2020.11.008](https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijwd.2020.11.008)

## Topics

[Bloating, breast tenderness and physical symptoms](https://niyora.com/research/topics/symptom-physical-symptoms/)[Diet and nutrition](https://niyora.com/research/topics/treatment-diet/)

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