Physical Wellness

Teen Pimples Linked to Skin Cancer

By Christine Hsu | Update Date: Jan 16, 2015 06:32 PM EST

Had acne as a teen? You're more likely to develop skin cancer, according to researchers.

A new study reveals a strong association between teenage acne and melanoma in women.

After analyzing data from the Nurses' Health Study II, which involved 99,128 female nurses who were followed for 20 years, lead researcher Dr. Mingfeng Zhang, M.D., Ph.D., and colleagues from the Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, found a that women who suffered severe teen acne were significantly more likely to develop melanoma as adults, according to HealthDay.

The relative risk increased for melanoma after researchers accounted for known risk factors for each cancer. Previous studies revealed that people who suffered teenage acne were significantly more likely to develop moles.

"Our findings suggest that a history of teenage acne might be a novel risk factor for melanoma independent from the known factors, which supports a need for continued investigation of these relationships," researchers concluded.

The findings were published Jan. 8 in the journal Cancer.

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