Introduction

Acne vulgaris is chronic skin condition with considerable physical, psychological, social, and economic impacts. Adherence to Western diets with a high glycemic index and dairy content has been linked to acne. However, the associations between acne and the Mediterranean diet (MD), a non-Western diet, have not been reviewed. This review aimed to examine the associations between adherence to the MD and the development and severity of acne vulgaris.

Materials and methods

PubMed, Embase, and Web of Science databases were searched for studies examining the association between adherence to the MD and acne vulgaris. Data were extracted by two independent reviewers. The risk of bias was assessed using the Newcastle‒Ottawa Scale, and the quality of evidence was assessed using the GRADE tool. The Meta-analyses were conducted using a random-effects model to pool the odds ratio (OR) and correlation coefficient.

Results

Five case‒control studies were included, with 765 participants, 340 cases, and 425 controls. The meta-analysis found that higher adherence to the MD was not significantly associated with lower odds of acne development (OR 0.32, CI = 0.08–1.28), with high heterogeneity (Q test p = .02, I2 = 75%). The second meta-analysis of correlational studies found a significant negative correlation between adherence to the MD and acne severity (correlation coefficient= -0.29, CI= -0.55 to -0.03), with high heterogeneity (Q test p = .008, I2 = 79%). Higher consumption of vegetables was significantly associated with lower odds of acne development (OR = 0.46, 95% CI, 0.29–0.74). The quality of evidence for the associations with both acne development and severity was low.

Conclusions

This review found that higher adherence to the Mediterranean diet was significantly correlated with less severe acne, while the association with acne development was not significant. Due to the low number of studies, small sample size, and methodological limitations, more well-designed studies are needed to strengthen the evidence base.

Title

Nutrition & Metabolism

Publisher

BioMed Central

Publisher Country

United Kingdom

Indexing

Scopus

Impact Factor

4.7

Publication Type

Both (Printed and Online)

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