Health And Fitness

November 12, 2010

Acne, Stress and Inflammation – Does Stress Cause Acne?

David Marrow asked:

Is there really any link between acne, stress and inflammation? There is a lot of research on the topic and this article will help you understand the relationship between acne and stress.

The short answer is yes, research shows that there is indeed a link between stress and acne. In fact, the main reason people continue to face acne problems in adulthood is because of stress at home and at the workplace. What has not actually been determined is if stress actually causes acne or if it exacerbates the problem.

A recent study at Wake Forest University found that teenagers who were under stress were 23% more likely to have an increase in acne problems. According to researcher and dermatologist, Gil Yosipovitch, M.D. , "Acne significantly affects physical and psychosocial well-being, so it is important to understand the interplay between the factors that exacerbate acne. Our study suggests a significant association between stress and severity of acne."

There is some debate as to exactly why stress causes acne to worsen. Some studies show that under stress, your body produces more sebum oil - the natural element that your body secretes to keep your skin moisturized. Overly oily skin, however, can result in clogged pores and cause acne to appear.

Other research shows that while stress does cause acne to appear, it does not accelerate the production of sebum oil. What these studies have found is that stress actually triggers inflammation in the body and makes small acne problems appear big.

So while the exact reason as to why acne stress occurs, there is conclusive evidence that stress does indeed aggravate acne. Therefore, the best thing to do is to understand how your body reacts to certain situations and learn how to practice stress management techniques that will help you keep maintain an even keel.

What is interesting is that while there doesn't seem to be a relationship between acne and diet, studies do show that caffeine causes your body to react as if it were under stress. Since Caffeine creates stress-like chemical reaction, it is best to reduce the amount of soda and coffee intake to see if that improves acne severity.