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. 2024 Apr;30(4):e13693.
doi: 10.1111/srt.13693.

Facial adult female acne in China: An analysis based on artificial intelligence over one million

Tian-Hao Li  1 , Xu-Da Ma  1 , Zi-Ming Li  1 , Nan-Ze Yu  1 , Jin-Yan Song  2 , Zi-Tao Ma  2 , Han-Ting Ying  2 , Beibei Zhou  2 , Jiu-Zuo Huang  1 , Liang Wu  2 , Xiao Long  1
Affiliations

Facial adult female acne in China: An analysis based on artificial intelligence over one million

Tian-Hao Li et al. Skin Res Technol. 2024 Apr.

Retraction in

Abstract

Background: To further clarify the acne profile of Chinese adult women, we included 1,156,703 adult women. An artificial intelligence algorithm was used to analyze images taken by high-resolution mobile phones to further explore acne levels in Chinese adult women.

Method: In this study, we assessed the severity of acne by evaluating patients' selfies through a smartphone application. Furthermore, we gathered basic user information through a questionnaire, including details such as age, gender, skin sensitivity, and dietary habits.

Results: This study showed a gradual decrease in acne severity from the age of 25 years. A trough was reached between the ages of 40 and 44, followed by a gradual increase in acne severity. In terms of skin problems and acne severity, we have found that oily skin, hypersensitive skin, frequent makeup application and unhealthy dietary habits can affect the severity of acne. For environment and acne severity, we observed that developed city levels, cold seasons and high altitude and strong radiation affect acne severity in adult women. For the results of the AI analyses, the severity of blackheads, pores, dark circles and skin roughness were positively associated with acne severity in adult women.

Conclusions: AI analysis of high-res phone images in Chinese adult women reveals acne severity trends. Severity decreases after 25, hits a low at 40-44, then gradually rises. Skin type, sensitivity, makeup, diet, urbanization, seasons, altitude, and radiation impact acne. Blackheads, pores, dark circles, and skin roughness are linked to acne severity. These findings inform personalized skincare and public health strategies for adult women.

Keywords: Chinese; adult female acne; artificial intelligence; deep learning; skin aging.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
Schematic diagram of facial acne grading.
FIGURE 2
FIGURE 2
The overall architecture of the automatic acne grading algorithm.
FIGURE 3
FIGURE 3
Trends of acne severity with age (mean ± 95% CI), with a trough between 40 and 44 years of age.
FIGURE 4
FIGURE 4
Intrinsic factors may affect acne severity, including skin types (A), skin sensitivity (B), cosmentics (C) and diet (D) based on the AI scoring system (OSS, overall severity score; ****p < 0.0001, ns: not significant).
FIGURE 5
FIGURE 5
Environmental factors may affect acne severity, including city development level (City Tiers in China) (A), seasons (B), and total solar radiation (C). Tier 1 cities were the most developed, while Tier 5 cities were the least. Annual total solar radiation (2022) was classified into four irradiance levels in China (OSS, overall severity score; ****p < 0.0001, ns: not significant).
FIGURE 6
FIGURE 6
Total irradiance (A) and acne severity (B) showed similar distributions. The total irradiation in each province was the average value in 2022.
FIGURE 7
FIGURE 7
Acne severity and other facial skin problems, including enlarged pores (A), blackheads (B), skin roughness (C), and dark circles (D). All facial analyses were performed by different AIs of the software (OSS, overall severity score; **** p < 0.0001, ns: not significant).
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