Assessment of plasma testosterone, estradiol, and progesterone levels in Vietnam female patients with moderate to severe acne vulgaris

<p><strong>Introduction</strong>: Acne is a chronic inflammatory disorder of the pilosebaceous unit with differential pathogenesis. To elucidate the roles of hormones in acne pathogenesis, we conducted a study to evaluate the plasma testosterone, estradiol, and progesterone levels in women with acne vulgaris.</p> <p><strong>Methods</strong>: We conducted a cross-sectional descriptive study, and 1<span>40</span> women with acne vulgaris were examined; their plasma estradiol, progesterone, and testosterone were analyzed by chemiluminescence technique and compared with the healthy control group.</p> <p><span><strong>Results</strong>:</span><span> </span>Increased plasma hormone levels in women with acne vulgaris accounted for 33.57%, and hyperandrogenism accounted for 20.71% of cases. We found significant differences in testosterone levels (mean value, 56.92 ± 27.64ng/dL, 60.71± 25.85ng/dL versus 38.35 ± 10.09ng/dL, p&lt;0.05), respectively, in the moderate to severe acne group and the control group. However, the estradiol level of the moderate and severe acne groups (325.12 ± 91.79 and 305.26 ± 83.01pmol/l) was lower than the control group (368.6 ± 58.34pmol/l), with p-value under 0.05. No statistically significant differences were found for progesterone levels. </p> <p><span><strong>Conclusion</strong>:</span><span> Our study showed that female patients with moderate to severe acne vulgaris had abnormalities in plasma testosterone and estradiol levels. These abnormalities might be part roles in the pathogenesis of acne vulgaris, even when the mean levels were in the normal range. Female patients suffering from premenstrual acne flares might be examined for plasma testosterone levels.</span></p>