Although acne generally is a teenage condition, many people don't realize that perfectly healthy adults can get pimples, too. Women, especially, are prone to acne breakouts at particular times of the month, often directly prior to their periods. Physicians can treat these breakouts even though they don't indicate a serious problem; however, in a few cases, acne that appears suddenly during your adult years can point toward a more serious internal disease, such as diabetes.
Cause
In teens and in adults with normal hormones, acne occurs when those hormones spur glands in the skin to make too much of the thick skin oil called sebum, according to the Cleveland Clinic. Extra sebum, which causes you to feel as if your skin is too oily, potentially can clog your hair follicles, leading to pimples. If these pimples get infected with bacteria, they'll worsen and you potentially can develop inflammation with your acne. In most cases, acne represents a normal process with only cosmetic implications.
Diabetes
In some people, acne can indicate the presence of type 2 diabetes, an internal disease that results when your body can't use the hormone insulin properly to control levels of blood sugar, according to the diabetes website Islets of Hope. Skin-based bacterial infections such as acne and folliculitis, which involves infections of the hair follicles, occur frequently in diabetics, especially those whose disease isn't well-controlled.
PCOS
Women with bad acne who also suffer from hair growth on the face, chest and chin, along with irregular or missing periods, show signs of the internal disorder polycystic ovary syndrome, or PCOS. This condition, in which the ovaries fill with cysts, causing hormonal irregularities and infertility, often causes severe acne that's not responsive to treatment, according to the National Women's Health Information Center.
Adrenal Gland Tumor
In a handful of people, acne can result from an adrenal gland tumor that causes the internal disease Cushing syndrome, according to the National Institutes of Health (ref#4). In this rare form of Cushing's syndrome, which occurs more frequently in adult women, the tumor causes the adrenal gland to produce too much of the hormone cortisol. This can cause acne or other skin infections, along with easily bruised skin and bone pain.
Considerations
In most cases, acne that appears in your adult years doesn't indicate a serious internal disease or even hormones that are out of balance, according to MayoClinic.com. Most adult men and women with acne have normal hormone levels; however, if your acne appeared suddenly, seemingly from nowhere, and you have other symptoms that developed at the same time, you should consider scheduling an appointment with your physician for a full workup, even if it's just to rule out additional problems and get treatment for your acne.
