The overall risk for acne is comparable for adults with atopic dermatitis (AD) and controls, according to a study published online Feb. 26 in the Journal of the European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology .

Jacob P. Thyssen, M.D., Ph.D., from the University of Copenhagen in Denmark, and colleagues examined the prevalence, incidence, and risk for acne in adolescents and adults with AD in a matched cohort study including 6,600 adults with AD and 66,000 controls.

The researchers found that the 12-month prevalence of acne was 3.7 and 3.9 percent in the general population and among AD patients, respectively. AD patients aged 12 to 18 years had the highest incidence rate of acne, and the incidence rate was slightly higher in women with AD than in men. In patients with AD, the overall risk was similar to that of the general population (hazard ratio, 0.96; 95 percent confidence interval, 0.88 to 1.06), while AD patients had a reduced risk for being treated for severe acne (hazard ratio, 0.59; 95 percent confidence interval, 0.47 to 0.73); the reduced risk was driven by adolescents and young adults. The hazard ratio of acne increased with age, reaching 1.41 (95 percent confidence interval, 1.07 to 1.84) and 2.07 (95 percent confidence interval, 1.42 to 3.03) for patients aged 30 to 39 years and 40 years or older, respectively, versus controls.

"The risk of severe acne was reduced in adolescent and younger patients with AD, but increased with age," the authors write.

Several authors disclosed financial ties to the pharmaceutical and medical device industries.

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