THURSDAY, March 9 (HealthDay News) -- Cigarette smoking accelerates skin roughness in men and is particularly prominent in young men compared with their non-smoking peers, according to research presented this week at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Dermatology in San Francisco. However, no significant differences were observed among the women.
Tilmann Reuther, M.D., of the University of Hamburg in Germany, and colleagues compared skin roughness in 63 smoking and non-smoking men and women. A Visioscan VC980 was used to assess skin roughness.
The researchers found skin roughness in male smokers significantly higher than in male non-smokers. Skin roughness parameters were highest in male smokers aged 30 to 59 compared with non-smokers the same age. Smokers aged 18 to 29 also had rougher skin than their peers who were non-smokers, and there was no statistically significant difference between skin roughness of younger versus older smokers. There was no difference in female smokers versus non-smokers in terms of skin roughness.
"The results obtained in the present study indicate a measurable influence of smoking on skin roughness, in particular in younger male smokers," the authors write. "These changes of skin roughness might be due to effects of cigarette smoking on connective tissue metabolism or desquamation of the skin. The fact that neither smoking-related differences nor age-related differences of roughness could be assessed in women might be due to a more regular use of skin care products in smoking women or due to gender differences."
Abstract (page 40; P202)
