A topic that has received some
attention with research regarding acne is whether diet plays a role in the
pathogenesis of acne. A recently published literature review elegantly explains
how the majority of studies regarding diet and acne have been flawed in the
past, but that new studies indicate that a diet focused on Glycemic Load (GL)
or dairy may be a worthwhile area to reconsider in research.
The review, which was published
in Journal of the Academy of Nutrition
and Dietetics, critically evaluated 27 studies that had considered the
relationship between diet and development of acne. The majority of these
studies were poorly designed, and often relied on self-report, lacked criteria
for evaluating changes in acne development and had limited samples (who were
often only males). Moreover, the same research teams, who repeatedly made the
same methodological errors, conducted many of the included studies. However,
the authors also highlighted some recent studies that had a better design and
statistical measurement of the results. Overall, the researchers argued that
diet does not cause acne, but that the potential relationship between diet and
acne is worthy of investigation especially when it comes to consumption of
dairy products and diets focused on GL levels.
For instance, in the case of
dairy products, it was noted that excessive amounts of dairy seemed to be
related to a higher amount of acne. Although this was a consistent finding
between the studies, there were no specifications as to whether this
relationship was direct or indirect. Similarly, the specific ingredient within
dairy products that would play a key role was not specified. What surprised us
the most was that none of the studies included cut-off points for when dairy or
GL would become problematic, but mentioned that their participants had an
excessive use of both.
We agree with the authors that
more robust research, preferably randomised controlled trials, is needed in
order to establish whether diet can play a role in developing acne. These
studies would also need to pay greater attention to patients’ current and
previous acne medications, and demographic factors such as race, sex and age.
Including all of the aforementioned would enable more high quality comparison
of studies.
We do not consider it unlikely that a diet would play a part
in acne development, given that current research suggests several pathways to
pathogenesis of acne. If future research were to present reliable findings,
then this could have implications for recommending a certain diet in
conjunction with acne medications.