Factors associated with topical retinoid prescriptions for acne

Topical retinoids are recommended as the main therapy for most acne patients.

To examine the factors associated with topical retinoid prescriptions for acne.

Retrospective analyses used data from the 2005-2010 National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey (NAMCS) and the 2004-2007 Marketscan Medicaid Database. Multivariate logistic regression models were used to assess the impact of patient and physician factors on the probability of getting a topical retinoid prescription.

Results from analyzing the NAMCS data showed that topical retinoids were prescribed in 40.9% of acne-related physician visits. Older age, male gender, and having Medicaid insurance were associated with a lower likelihood of getting a topical retinoid prescription. Moreover, we found in the Medicaid dataset that seeing a pediatrician or family doctor was associated with lower odds of getting a topical retinoid prescription than seeing a dermatologist (OR = 0.24, 95% CI: 0.23, 0.25).

The available databases do not provide an assessment of the severity of the lesions either at baseline or over time.

The frequency of receiving a topical retinoid prescription among acne patients was low and it was associated with age, gender, insurance type and physician specialty.