Evaluation of the relationship between lipid profiles and inflammatory parameters in patients with acne vulgaris

Abstract

Aim: Acne vulgaris is a chronic inflammatory disease of the pilosebaceous unit, which typically begins in adolescence but can occur at any age throughout life. The role of lipid metabolism in sebum synthesis in sebaceous glands in the pathogenesis of acne vulgaris is still being studied. This study aims to investigate the relationship between lipid profiles and inflammatory markers in patients with acne vulgaris and those without.

Methods: This study is designed as a retrospective study where the medical records of patients were reviewed. A total of 71 individuals, aged between 12 and 30, who applied to the Dermatology Clinic of Mardin Training and Research Hospital between January 1, 2022, and February 31, 2024, were included. Of these, 48 individuals were diagnosed with acne vulgaris and had not received any treatment, while 23 individuals were healthy controls with no history of chronic inflammatory systemic diseases or endocrine pathology. Demographic information (age, gender), lipid profile (cholesterol; CHO, triglycerides; TG, low-density lipoprotein; LDL, high-density lipoprotein; HDL), and inflammatory parameters (mean platelet volume; MPV, immature granulocyte; IG, platelet-large cell ratio; P-LCR, neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio; NLR, platelet-lymphocyte ratio; PLR, monocyte-lymphocyte ratio; MLR, and systemic immune-inflammation index; SII) were recorded. Appropriate statistical methods were used to evaluate the relationship between demographic characteristics, lipid profiles, and inflammatory parameters, depending on the type and distribution of the data. A p-value of <0.05 was considered statistically significant.

Results: No significant difference was observed in terms of demographic data between the patient groups. When lipid profiles and inflammatory parameters were compared between patients with acne vulgaris and the control group, TG levels were significantly higher in the patient group compared to the control group (p = 0.039). However, no statistically significant differences were found between the groups in terms of CHO, HDL, LDL, MPV, IG, P-LCR, NLR, PLR, MLR, and SII parameters (p > 0.05). According to Pearson correlation analysis, a positive correlation was found between P-LCR and CHO (R: 0.399, p = 0.001) and HDL (R: 0.279, p = 0.022), while a negative correlation was reported between P-LCR and LDL (R: -0.317, p = 0.000).

Conclusion: In our study, TG levels were found to be significantly higher in patients with acne vulgaris, and a correlation between P-LCR and lipid profile was reported. Our findings emphasize the necessity of considering the interaction between lipid profiles and inflammatory parameters in the treatment approach of patients with acne vulgaris.