DermHelpCentral

Hormonal Treatment of Acne in Women

This is an in-depth article that may help certain patients.  Full text is available online.

December 2009

Tobechi L. Ebede, MD, Department of Dermatology, Weill-Cornell Medical Center, New York, New York; Emily L. Arch, MD, Division of Dermatology, NorthShore University HealthSystem, Skokie, Illinois; Diane Berson, MD, Department of Dermatology, Weill-Cornell Medical Center, New York, New York

Disclosure: Drs. Ebede and Arch report no relevant conflicts of interest. Dr. Berson serves as a consultant and/or on the advisory board for Stiefel, Medicis, OrthoNeutrogena, Dusa, La Roche-Posay, and Galderma.

Abstract: Acne vulgaris is a common and chronic disorder of the pilosebaceous unit. Standard treatment protocols include topical retinoids, topical and oral antimicrobials, and isotretinoin. Hormonal therapies can be added to the regimen in some patients. This article will review the hormonal pathogenesis of acne, discuss the basics of an endocrine evaluation, and provide an overview of the current hormonal treatment options in women. (J Clin Aesthetic Dermatol. 2009;2(12):16–22.)

Relative Risk and Absolute Risk

This is an important concept to understand when considering your chance of contracting a disease, getting benefit from a procedure or drug, suffering a side-effect or surviving monster surf at Waimea Bay..

What are absolute and relative risks?

Absolute risk of a disease is your risk of developing the disease over a time-period. We all have absolute risks of developing various diseases such as heart disease, cancer, stroke, etc. The same absolute risk can be expressed in different ways. For example, say you have a 1 in 10 risk of developing a certain disease in your life. This can also be said a 10% risk, or a 0.1 risk - depending if you use percentages or decimals.
Relative risk is used to compare the risk in two different groups of people. For example, the groups could be 'smokers' and 'non-smokers'. All sorts of groups are compared to others in medical research to see if belonging to a group increases or decreases your risk of developing certain diseases. For example, research has shown that smokers have a higher risk of developing heart disease compared to (relative to) non-smokers.

Here's a concise but lucid discussion: Download Risk A:R.