Acne vulgaris is a common skin condition. Acne-causing hormones such as insulin, insulin-like growth factor 1, and androgens are influenced by diet and metabolism. It has been known for many years that increased dairy consumption and foods with high glycaemic index affect the levels of hormones associated with acne aetiology.¹

Objectives

The researchers performed a systematic assessment of high-quality evidence on the association between the dietary glycaemic index and dairy intake with acne genesis.¹

Methods

• Using the 2020 Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines, a thorough search of the MEDLINE database was conducted.¹
• The quality of the evidence was evaluated using the Newcastle–Ottawa Quality Evaluation Scale.¹
• After being screened for inclusion and exclusion criteria, 34 articles were included in the final data and the level of evidence (LOE) assessment.¹

Results

• Most of the included studies (82.4%) were observational, while the remaining studies were interventional controlled trials.¹
• 17.9% of the observational studies exclusively assessed the association between glycaemic index/glycaemic load and acne.¹
• 35.7% exclusively commented on the association between dairy and acne and 46.4% described the association of dairy products and glycaemic index/glycaemic load with acne.¹
• All the interventional trials included in the study examined the effect of glycaemic index/glycaemic load on acne.¹
• There were no randomized controlled trials (RCT) on the link between dairy consumption and acne, conclusions were made on observational studies.¹

Conclusions