The Relationship Between Acne Vulgaris and Insulin Resistance

Acne vulgaris is a chronic inflammatory disease of the pilosebaceous unit that usually affects adolescents. The aetiology and severity of acne may be influenced by hyperinsulinemia and insulin resistance. A case-control study was conducted in the dermatology outpatient clinic of Al-Fayhaa Teaching Hospital in Basrah city. C-peptide and triglyceride-glucose (TyG) index levels were measured in 43 acne vulgaris patients who were age- and gender-matched with 48 controls. The results found that 81% and 67% of acne patients have insulin resistance based on their C-peptide and TyG index levels, respectively, and this is significantly higher than the control candidates (P = 0.001). Furthermore, a higher value of C-peptide was found among acne cases compared to controls (2.84 ± 1.23 vs. 1.68 ± 0.19) (P = 0.001), and a higher value of the TyG index was found among cases compared to controls (4.43 ± 0.17 vs. 3.38 ± 0.19) (P = 0.001), in addition to a significant positive and strong correlation between the level of these biomarkers and the acne severity (r = 0.760 for the C-peptide and 0.814 for the TyG index) (P = 0.001).