About this Research Topic
Acne vulgaris (AV) is considered an inflammatory disorder of pilosebaceous follicle. Current paradigm presumes the higher the triglyceride level, the greater probability of acne vulgaris (AV) occurrence or severity. This prevailing view lacks the necessary premises required to prove causality. To prove causality, the reverse should hold true, that low TG levels are predictive of less AV occurrence or severity. A low TG concentration in patients with AV is not addressed before, probably because of
(i) the lack of any hypothesis connecting low TG levels to AV, and
(ii) lower prevalence of hypotriglyceridemia compared to hypertriglyceridemia in societies, which may lead to missing or misdiagnosis of other types of AV. Therefore, a formal or causal position statement cannot be issued.
Recently, many studies have reported that people with AV have higher levels of total cholesterol (TC), triglycerides (TGs) and low density lipoprotein-cholesterol (LDL-C) compared to healthy controls. Some have wrongly concluded that an unhealthy lipid profile is an independent risk factor for AV. This conclusion is methodologically problematic and has been criticized before.
Since this prevailing view, i.e., hyperlipidemia theory, lacks the necessary premises required to prove causality and should be re-visited. It has also been suggested that studies investigating AV calculate – retrospectively or prospectively - odds ratio of having AV in people with extremely low levels of either TG and or TC. We welcome papers on any aspect of AV from the standpoint of pathology and dermatology.
(i) the lack of any hypothesis connecting low TG levels to AV, and
(ii) lower prevalence of hypotriglyceridemia compared to hypertriglyceridemia in societies, which may lead to missing or misdiagnosis of other types of AV. Therefore, a formal or causal position statement cannot be issued.
Recently, many studies have reported that people with AV have higher levels of total cholesterol (TC), triglycerides (TGs) and low density lipoprotein-cholesterol (LDL-C) compared to healthy controls. Some have wrongly concluded that an unhealthy lipid profile is an independent risk factor for AV. This conclusion is methodologically problematic and has been criticized before.
Since this prevailing view, i.e., hyperlipidemia theory, lacks the necessary premises required to prove causality and should be re-visited. It has also been suggested that studies investigating AV calculate – retrospectively or prospectively - odds ratio of having AV in people with extremely low levels of either TG and or TC. We welcome papers on any aspect of AV from the standpoint of pathology and dermatology.
Keywords: Acne vulgaris; lipid profile; confounding variables; study designs; bias; hypotriglyceridemia, pathogenesis, dyslipidemia
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