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Acne patients saw improvement after regimen of fish oil supplements

Fish oil supplementation was associated with improvement of inflammatory acne, especially in patients with moderate to severe acne, according to study results.

Researchers in California evaluated 13 men (aged 18 to 40 years; 54% Hispanic/Latino, 23% Caucasian, 23% Asian) with mild to severe acne, who were given three fish oil capsules containing a combined 930 mg eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), 720 mg docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and 174 mg docosapentaenoic acid (DPA) daily for 12 weeks. The patients continued an unchanged diet and completed four separate 3-day food diaries to ensure they were not consuming large quantities of foods rich in omega-3 fatty acids.

Patients also maintained any existing acne treatments, including cleansers and medications that were not considered intense. Patients’ faces were photographed at baseline, week 6 and week 12. An overall severity grading scale, total inflammatory lesion counts and colorimetry assessed acne.

At week 12, there was no significant change in acne grading and inflammatory counts when compared with baseline. Researchers observed a broad range of response, however, with improvement of at least one point on the acne grading scale in eight patients (62%), worsening in four patients (31%) and unchanged in one patient. Seven patients who showed improvement were classified at baseline as having moderate to severe acne, while three patients who had deterioration were classified with mild acne.

“Even though statistical significance was not obtained … there is some evidence that fish oil supplementation is associated with an improvement in overall acne severity, especially for individuals with moderate to severe acne,” the researchers concluded. “Divergent responses to fish oil in our pilot study indicate that dietary and supplemental lipids are worthy of further investigation in acne.”