WAILEA, HAWAII – A study that used patient-reported outcomes to assess the impact of different contraceptive methods on acne provided “fascinating results,” Lawrence F. Eichenfield, MD, said at the Hawaii Dermatology Seminar provided by Global Academy for Medical Education/Skin Disease Education Foundation.
“Progestins are present in birth control for the birth control, but they’re not usually good for the acne,” Dr. Eichenfield said in a video interview at the meeting.
Dr. Eichenfield, professor of dermatology and pediatrics at the University of California, San Diego, and his colleagues reviewed patient reports from an Internet-based survey of more than 2,000 adolescent and young adult acne patients asking whether they were on any contraceptive, and if so, how they thought the contraceptive method affected their acne.
Overall, hormonal progestin-only IUDs and some progestin-only implants correlated with worse acne. Of the combined oral contraceptives, those on the OCs containing drospirenone performed best, he said. Also of interest, the triphasic OCs, with the progestin in three phases, had a better impact on the acne than did the dual ones, he added.
The review of patient-reported outcomes can not only inform clinicians on how they should prescribe hormonal therapy, but also raises awareness of the impact of contraceptives on acne in general, Dr. Eichenfield said.
The results were published last year (J Drugs Dermatol. 2016 Jun 1;15[6]:670-4).
Dr. Eichenfield disclosed relationships with Anacor/Pfizer, Genentech, Lilly, Regeneron/Sanofi, Medimetriks, and Otsuka.
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