SynthesisAmerican journal of clinical dermatology2021
Metformin Therapy for Acne in Patients with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.
Synthesis in American journal of clinical dermatology, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 14 papers.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
14 citing papers in PubMed, 27 citations in OpenAlex.
- Beyond Isotretinoin: A Narrative Review of Emerging Systemic Therapies for Moderate-to-Severe Acne.Journal of cosmetic dermatology · 2026Review
- Metformin in skin diseases: the role of gut microbiota and immune response.Pharmacological reports : PR · 2026Review
- Acne Vulgaris Associated with Metabolic Syndrome: A Three-Case Series Highlighting Pathophysiological Links and Therapeutic Challenges.Diagnostics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- New Perspectives on Nutraceutical Insulin Sensitizing Agents in the Treatment of Psoriasis and Other Dermatological Diseases.International journal of molecular sciences · 2025Review
- Multifactorial Refractory Acne in Women: Insights from a Case Series Involving Hormonal-, Metabolic-, and Corticosteroid-Related Triggers.Life (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- A narrative review on cutaneous manifestations in polycystic ovary syndrome: pathophysiology, diagnosis, management, and psychosocial impact.Annals of medicine and surgery (2012) · 2025Review
- Association of Myo-Inositol and Microlipodispersed Magnesium in Androgen-Dependent Dermatological Diseases: A Retrospective Study.Pharmaceuticals (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Metformin in polycystic ovary syndrome: unraveling multi-stage therapeutic mechanisms from puberty to long-term health outcomes.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2025Review
- Metformin Therapy for Acne Vulgaris: A Meta-Analysis.Pharmaceuticals (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Review
- Acetate ameliorates ovarian mitochondrial dysfunction in letrozole-induced polycystic ovarian syndrome rat model by improving mitofusin-2.The journal of physiological sciences : JPS · 2024Article
- Acne treatment: research progress and new perspectives.Frontiers in medicine · 2024Review
- Metformin: A Potential Treatment for Acne, Hidradenitis Suppurativa and Rosacea.Acta dermato-venereologica · 2023Review
- A PCOS Paradox: Does Inositol Therapy Find a Rationale in All the Different Phenotypes?International journal of molecular sciences · 2023Article
- Molecular docking and mouse modeling suggest CMKLR1 and INSR as targets for improving PCOS phenotypes by minocycline.EXCLI journal · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundAcne is one of the cutaneous manifestations of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). There is limited evidence on metformin use for treatment of acne in PCOS patients.
objectiveOur aim was to conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis to evaluate the efficacy of metformin for treatment of PCOS-related acne.
methodsOn November 23, 2019, we searched PubMed, the Cochrane Library, and Embase databases for human clinical studies in any language. The keywords included 'acne' and 'polycystic ovary syndrome' combined with 'metformin,' 'biguanide,' or 'glucophage.' We included randomized controlled trials (RCTs), non-randomized controlled trials (NRCTs), and open-label studies on patients with PCOS treated with metformin. We calculated standardized mean differences (SMDs) for acne scores and odds ratios (ORs) for presence of acne, with 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Quality assessment was performed using the Cochrane Collaboration risk of bias instrument for RCTs. NRCTs and open-label studies were assessed using the adapted methodological index for nonrandomized studies (MINORS).
resultsWe included 51 studies on 2405 PCOS patients. Metformin as adjuvant therapy led to greater improvement of acne scores than the same therapy without metformin (SMD - 0.256; 95% CI - 0.439 to - 0.074). Pooling pre- and post-metformin therapy data showed significant decrease of acne scores after metformin use (SMD - 0.712; 95% CI - 0.949 to - 0.476). Presence of acne decreased significantly after metformin treatment (OR 0.362; 95% CI 0.271 to 0.485). LIMITATIONS: There was heterogeneity across some studies due to different acne assessment scales, metformin dosages, and treatment durations.
conclusionsFor PCOS patients, metformin as stand-alone or adjuvant therapy was associated with improvement of acne. More randomized controlled trials are needed to validate these results. REGISTRATION: PROSPERO registration number CRD42020159656.
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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.