ABSTRACT
Background: Physiological changes during pregnancy have a significant impact on many organ systems including the skin. Many skin conditions, including keloids, are known to worsen during pregnancy. Although worsening of keloids during pregnancy has been reported in the literature, the actual rate and incidence of this phenomenon have not been previously reported.
Objective: To evaluate the relationship between pregnancy and change in the rate of growth or symptomatology of keloids among women who had at least one keloid lesion prior to becoming pregnant.
Material and Methods: An online survey was launched in November 2011 asking participants to provide answers to questions about their keloids. Female patients were asked about the potential impact of pregnancy on their keloids. Descriptive statistics are provided.
Results: As of February 13, 2022, 1886 individuals had participated in this survey, and 1715 provided information about their gender (male, 561 [32.71%]; female, 1154 [67.29%]). Among women, 297 reported that they had developed their first keloid prior to becoming pregnant and only 19% of them reported significant worsening of their keloids during pregnancy.
Conclusions: To the author’s knowledge, this is the first systematic review and report of the incidence of worsening of keloids during pregnancy. The cause of the worsening of keloids during pregnancy is directly related to the factors that are inherent to the keloid tissue and not the pregnancy itself.