Acne Severity and Sleep Quality in Adults.

Kory P. Schrom,Raghav Tripathi,Elma Baron,Michelle Baechtold,Sayeeda Ahsanuddin,Amy Ramser

doi:10.3390/clockssleep1040039

Abstract

Poor sleep quality is extremely prevalent, with about one third of adults in the USA obtaining less than the recommended amount of sleep. In addition, poor sleep quality has been linked to an increased risk of many conditions, including diabetes, hypertension, psychiatric conditions, and overall all-cause mortality. Research has shown that sleep disturbance does impact skin disease, although many details of this relationship are still unclear. The goal of this study is to determine if there is a relationship between acne severity and sleep quality in adults. Forty subjects with acne were recruited from dermatology clinics in Cleveland, OH, to participate in this study. Acne severity was assessed using the Global Acne Grading Scale (GAGS). To assess sleep quality, subjects completed the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) and completed a seven-day sleep journal. Subjects also completed the Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI), the Patient Health Questionnaire-2 (PHQ-2), and provided information about current and past acne treatments as well as their opinion regarding their own acne severity and exacerbating factors. Our findings support the hypothesis that there is a potential relationship between sleep quality and acne.

Highlights

Sleep is critical for normal human biological and physiological functioning, and it is partly regulated by the suprachiasmatic nuclei located in the anterior hypothalamus
As determined by the Global Acne Grading Scale (GAGS), acne severity of our cohort ranged from mild to severe, with the majority of subjects being classified as mild (n = 21), followed by moderate (n = 17); two were classified as severe
On univariate analysis, self-reported acne severity scores are directly correlated with poorer quality of life and depressive symptoms (DLQI: r = 0.44677, p = 0.0039; Patient Health Questionnaire-2 (PHQ-2): r = 0.33512, p = 0.0345)

Summary

Introduction

Sleep is critical for normal human biological and physiological functioning, and it is partly regulated by the suprachiasmatic nuclei located in the anterior hypothalamus. These nuclei function as a central “clock” which coordinates biological processes that occur at recurring intervals over an approximately 24-hour period of time known as the circadian rhythm [1]. This central “clock” regulates normal functioning by coordinating with peripheral “clocks” that are expressed in cells throughout the body, including the skin [2,3,4,5,6]. Sleep and its impact on inflammatory skin conditions has been alluded to in psoriatic animal models wherein acute sleep deprivation was linked to worsening psoriatic inflammation; data evaluating sleep in the context of human inflammatory skin disorders, including acne vulgaris (acne), is limited [11]

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