Abstract: Objective To study the mode of inheritance of acne vulgaris(AV)and the role of genetic factors in its pathogenesis.Methods A matched case-control study was performed.The prevalance of AV was investigated by questionaire and dermatological examination in 348 AV-affeced pedigrees and 443 control pedigrees.Li-Mantel-Gart method,Falconer method and Penrose method were used to estimate the segregation ratio,heritability and genetic model of acne,respectively.Results The prevalence of acne in the first-and second-degree relatives of the probands was significantly higher than that of the controls(P<0.01).The segregation ratio was 0.183(0.144～0.232),lower than 0.25,implicating that AV did not coincide with monogenetic inheritance model.The weighted mean heritability of the first-and second-degree relatives of the probands was 88%±0.092%.The ratio of morbidity(s/q)in the first-digree relatives of the probands and the controls was 3.89,approaching 3.32(1/(√q),suggesting a polygenetic inheritance model.Conclusions Acne may be a polygenic disease,and genetic factors might play a certain role in its pathogenesis.

Key words: Acne vulgaris, Inheritance patterns, Epidemiology