Evalution Serum Zinc Level in Acne and Correlation with Severity Acne Vulgaris Benghazi - Libya SciDoc Publishers | Open Access | Science Journals | Media Partners

Background: Acne vulgaris is one of the most common cutaneous disorder affecting young and adolescents. Some investigators assessed the relationship between serum zinc levels and acne. Results of these studies suggest that lower serum zinc levels may be related to the involvement of acne and the degree of disease severity. Aim: The aim of our study was to evaluate the serum zinc level in patients with acne vulgaris and healthy controls and its association with acne severity. Subjects and Methods: The study included 65 patients with acne vulgaris and 65 healthy control subjects. Atomic absorption spectrophotometer was used to measure serum zinc level in the acne patients compared with controls. Acne severity was classified according to Global Acne Grading System (GAGS). Results: There was high statistical significant difference between the low zinc level among acne cases and higher levels among controls. The acne patients had low zinc levels at a rate of 30% compared to 0% in the control group. Correlation studies showed no relation between the zinc level and the degree of acne or disease duration. Conclusion: It is concluded that low serum zinc level in acne patients could be one of the causes of acne and also that zinc levels may not be related to the severity