Dairy Intake and Acne Vulgaris: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of 78,529 Children, Adolescents, and Young Adults

Abstract

A meta-analysis can help inform the debate about the epidemiological evidence on dairy intake and development of acne. A systematic literature search of PubMed from inception to 11 December 2017 was performed to estimate the association of dairy intake and acne in children, adolescents, and young adults in observational studies. We estimated the pooled random effects odds ratio (OR) (95% CI), heterogeneity (I2-statistics, Q-statistics), and publication bias. We included 14 studies (n = 78,529; 23,046 acne-cases/55,483 controls) aged 7–30 years. ORs for acne were 1.25 (95% CI: 1.15–1.36; p = 6.13 × 10−8) for any dairy, 1.22 (1.08–1.38; p = 1.62 × 10−3) for full-fat dairy, 1.28 (1.13–1.44; p = 8.23 × 10−5) for any milk, 1.22 (1.06–1.41; p = 6.66 × 10−3) for whole milk, 1.32 (1.16–1.52; p = 4.33 × 10−5) for low-fat/skim milk, 1.22 (1.00–1.50; p = 5.21 × 10−2) for cheese, and 1.36 (1.05–1.77; p = 2.21 × 10−2) for yogurt compared to no intake. ORs per frequency of any milk intake were 1.24 (0.95–1.62) by 2–6 glasses per week, 1.41 (1.05–1.90) by 1 glass per day, and 1.43 (1.09–1.88) by ≥2 glasses per day compared to intake less than weekly. Adjusted results were attenuated and compared unadjusted. There was publication bias (p = 4.71 × 10−3), and heterogeneity in the meta-analyses were explained by dairy and study characteristics. In conclusion, any dairy, such as milk, yogurt, and cheese, was associated with an increased OR for acne in individuals aged 7–30 years. However, results should be interpreted with caution due to heterogeneity and bias across studies.

Systematic review of the epidemiology of acne vulgaris

“…For example, Ismail, Manaf and Azizan 13 found that drinking milk on at least once per week was linked to increased odds of acne to 3.99 relative to those who drank milk less than once per week while Adebamowo et al 29 found that the intake of whole milk and low fat milk did not significantly influence the odds of acne. However, a meta-analysis review found that the intake of any amount of dairy in general or any kind of milk, regardless of the fat content (full-fat, whole, low-fat, skim) was linked to increased odds of acne 30 , suggesting that dairy and milk intake are likely to influence acne presentation. Possible explanations for this effect implicate steroid hormones or sugars present in milk 21 .…”

Acne Protection: Measures & Miseries

“…Dark chocolate consumption appears to affect the facial skin of young men by enhancing corneocyte desquamation and promoting bacterial colonization of the residual skin surface components [117]. Any dairy, such as milk, yogurt, and cheese, was associated with an increased OR for acne in individuals aged 7-30 years [20]. Four ounces of shrimp provides about 325 -375 milligrams of omega-3 fatty acids [118].…”

If You Don’t Eat Meat… You’ll Die. A Mixed-Method Survey of Health-Professionals’ Beliefs

“…In general, although cow's milk products are rich in calcium, and indeed calcium is one important part of bone strength, there is mixed evidence as to whether dairy foods are helpful or harmful for bone strength or fracture rates [24][25][26]. High dairy consumption carries risks outside of this, for example, milk proteins having been identified as the "dominant causal triggers of type 1 diabetes" [27], and high consumption of cow's milk is associated with increased acne [28]. Conversely, research has also shown diets high in dairy consumption to be associated with either neutral or slightly decreased risks for type II diabetes [29] and coronary heart disease [30], and decreased risk for colon cancer [31].…”