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its-octopeople t1_iykkm1d wrote

According to this article modern hunter-gatherers have much lower incidence of acne than industrial peoples, although the causes are not known. I can't vouch for the article, but it's thoroughly referenced

Edit to actually address the question: it's a reasonable inference from this that prehistoric people would also have less acne than modern industrialised people

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Awhodothey t1_iynxuxw wrote

Pretty sure anyone that spends more time out in the sun has less acne. UV exposure is the oldest trick in the book for reducing acne.

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7sevenheaven t1_iyo5swp wrote

Sounds like it would be correlated with bmi then? Maybe higher fat reserves results in more sebum production?

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MoiJaimeLesCrepes t1_iyon4mt wrote

Acne, high BMI and insulin resistance are correlated by way of hyperandrogenism (a form of excess of sexual hormones). If you go on google scholar and type "acne bmi correlation" you will see the sources for this.

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do note that lean hyperandrogenism is also possible. I am an unlucky sufferer. Always underweight yet bad acne.

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mosquito_christ t1_iyojm3c wrote

Acne is associated with high amounts of sex hormone. This is why acne comes in puberty, goes away in adulthood, but comes back if you take hormones on a steroid cycle.

Being obese reduces sex hormones, so probably not. I reckon there is some correlation between obesity and bad hygiene though.

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daywalkker t1_iyt1xpj wrote

Yup, it is an immune reaction to the sex hormones that causes dermal inflammation. Inflammation makes capillaries "leaky" and causes serum to ooze out of them. That serum is a perfect breeding ground for bacteria resulting in infection secondary to the immune response.

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Footbeard t1_iyodhu8 wrote

The causes are not known.. yes they are. OP even details the changes in diet, environment & lifestyle

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[deleted] t1_iynam39 wrote

[deleted]

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infraGem t1_iynsdmh wrote

Never believe someone who blames a complex issue on something as simple as "carbs".

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Revolutionary-Run306 t1_iyntkjb wrote

Well, I didn't blame the carbs at all. But that of high GI. We already know cultures and people born with syndromes that make them essentialy inmmune to acne.

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