Association of serum testosterone with acne vulgaris in women-A case control study

Objective To find out the association of serum testosterone with acne vulgaris in women. Patients and methods Seventy patients were considered as group A (case - female patients of acne), and 70, age- and sex-matched, healthy subjects were enrolled as group B (controls - females without acne). Mean serum testosterone levels were measured in case and control groups. Results The mean serum testosterone level was significantly high among the cases (0.52 ngm/ml) than the control (0.35 ngm/ml). Data analysis revealed that the percentage of serum testosterone above normal was found to be high among the cases with acne (10%) whereas below normal level of serum testosterone was found among the control i.e. patients without acne and the difference was statistically significant. Conclusion There is a significant association between serum testosterone and acne vulgaris. Testosterone levels should be measured in patients presenting with acne vulgaris especially in treatment resistant cases. Anti-androgen treatment may be indicated in those cases with elevated testosterone level