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Family history, BMI, diet influenced acne risk

Moderate to severe acne was influenced by risk factors including family history, body mass index and diet, according to study results.

Researchers in Italy conducted a case-control study of 205 patients (mean age, 17.2 years; 50.2% male) who had received new diagnoses of moderate to severe acne and compared data with 358 patients (mean age, 17.6 years; 43% male) with mild or no acne. There were 176 cases of lesions present for at least 6 months (85.8%) among patients with moderate to severe acne, which affected the face (98%), trunk (50.7%) and other locations (8.8%). Topical treatment had been received by most patients before study initiation.

 

Luigi Naldi

Family history of acne in first-degree relatives was strongly associated with moderate to severe acne (OR=3.41; 95% CI, 2.31-5.05). Patients with body mass index (BMI) less than 18.5 kg/m2 had reduced risk for acne compared with those with a BMI of 18.5 kg/m2 to 23 kg/m2 (OR=1.90; 95% CI, 1.09-3.31) and patients with a BMI greater than 23 kg/m2 (OR=1.94; 95% CI, 1.02-3.68). Males (OR=2.25; 95% CI, 0.89-5.68) had a more pronounced effect than females (OR=1.67; 95% CI, 0.83-3.37) in patients with BMI 18.5 kg/m2 to 23 kg/m2 and in patients with BMI greater than 23 kg/m2 (males, OR=3.29; 95% CI, 1.16-9.28; females, OR=1.30; 95% CI, 0.54-3.11).

For patients consuming more than three servings per week, increased milk consumption increased acne risk (OR=1.78; 95% CI, 1.22-2.59), with association more pronounced for skim milk compared with whole milk (OR=2.20; 95% CI, 1.18-4.10). A protective effect was associated with fish consumption (OR=0.68; 95% CI, 0.47-0.99). Acne risk was not associated with smoking or menstrual history.

“Clinicians should be aware that there are environmental triggers for acne,” researcher Luigi Naldi, MD, director of Centro Studi GISED in Bergamo, Italy, told Healio.com. “In particular, increased body mass index and dietetic factors may influence disease severity. Modulating severity by reducing weight and modifying some dietetic habits is a direction for future studies. … In the end, it is a matter of favoring a more holistic approach to disease management.”