RALEIGH, N.C. — As teenagers prepare for the gantlet of advanced-placement tests and year-end exams, they may see the stress erupt on their faces.
Acne breakouts, according to recent research from Wake Forest University scientists, are often triggered by stress. Just ask Andrew Cook, 17, of Apex, N.C.
A competitive swimmer, his skin goes crazy after a big meet. Major tests? Same drill.
"I'd come home and in the next day or two it would get worse," said Cook, a senior at Apex High School.
Hormones, skin oil and bacteria have long been blamed for bad skin, but the role of stress has been less clear. Now there's more scientific proof than ever that Cook and other acne sufferers aren't just imagining a link between pressure and pimples.
Researchers at Wake Forest Baptist University Medical Center led the largest-ever study done on acne and stress. They found that teens under high levels of stress were 23 percent more likely to see their zits get worse. It's part of a growing body of research that seeks to understand the biological relationship between stress and breakouts — information that may eventually lead to new ways to calm acne.
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Other recent research, for example, found that stress causes the body to overproduce hormones that worsen acne. The work is still in its early stages, but has some scientists dreaming of the day when dermatologists will prescribe pills to block such hormones.
"We're still a long way off from that," said Dr. Dean Morrell, a pediatric dermatologist at UNC Hospitals in Chapel Hill. "Right now the research helps to remind us to talk to patients about their stress."
