Investigation of the relationship between acne and diet in Korean patients

Abstract

There has been much controversy about the relationship between acne and foods. Some researchers contended that acne may be provoked or aggravated by some foods. However, the more general consensus was that acne was not affected by foods. They said there is no relationship between acne severity and total calorie intake, carbohydrates, lipids, proteins, minerals, and amino acids. Recently, some researchers awakened our interest by concluding that there is a positive relationship between acne and foods in their analytic studies. From their epidemiologic data, it was suggested there is a causative relationship between acne and foods. A hypothetical mechanism was also suggested. We enrolled 783 patients with acne and 502 control subjects. For the patients with acne, blood tests for IGF-1, IGFBP-3, PP2, DHEA-S, and testosterone were performed. The acne patients were divided into an aggravated by food group (AF) and a not aggravated by food group (NAF). All participants were asked to fill out a questionnaire. The frequency of vegetable and fish intake was significantly higher in the control group than in the acne group. Intake of instant noodles, junk food, carbonated drinks, snacks, processed cheeses, pork (braised), pork (roasted), chicken (fried), chicken (stewed), nuts, and seaweed were significantly higher in the acne patients than in the controls. Intake of roasted pork, fried chicken, and nuts was significantly higher in the AF group than in the NAF group. In addition, the regularity of intermeal intervals and breakfast intake were significantly lower in the acne patients. IGF-1 and IGFBP-3 showed gender difference. This study showed that a high glycemic load diet, dairy food intake, high fat diet, and iodine in Korean foods appear to play a role in acne exacerbation. In addition, it is suggested that irregular dietary patterns may also aggravate acne.