Antioxidant-rich diets may improve quality of life in women with acne

Key takeaways:

• Greater adherence to an antioxidant diet reduced the risk for acne’s impact on quality of life by 30% to 32%.
• The diet also reduced the risk for depression by 33%.

High adherence to an antioxidant diet reduced the risk for acne impacting patient quality of life in women, according to a study.

“The typical Western diet, rich in ultra-processed foods with sugar, saturated fatty acids and food additives with a high glycemic index and being poor in polyunsaturated fatty acids, fiber, water, vitamins and minerals can predispose individuals to the development of acne vulgaris,” Kinga Zujko-Kowalska, MD, a resident in the department of cardiology and internal medicine in the cardiac intensive care unit at the Medical University of Biaystok in Poland, and colleagues wrote.

According to the authors, an antioxidant-filled diet, comprised of vitamins, minerals, polyphenols, carotenoids, phytosterols, lignans and antioxidant potential, may improve acne in young women. Since impairment in quality of life (QOL) is a side effect of acne, the authors believed that an antioxidant-rich diet may not only improve acne, but also QOL.

To explore this claim, the authors conducted a study in which 165 women with acne adhered to a high antioxidant diet. Food intake was assessed based on 3-day food diaries, where participants logged all the food and drink they consumed during each day of the study. The researchers measured antioxidant intake using the dietary antioxidant quality index (DAQI) measurement tool.

Using the DLQI survey, 47% of subjects reported moderate QOL impairment due to acne, whereas 11% reported a very large or extreme effect on QOL at baseline. The remainder reported no to little effect.

Although 70% of women did not have depression, mild and moderate to severe depression was reported in 25% and 5%, respectively.

Of those who strictly adhered to the diet, moderate or severe QOL impairment was reduced by approximately 30%, whereas moderate, very large or extreme impact risk was reduced by approximately 32%. Participants also experienced a 33% reduced risk for depression.

“The results of this study showed that the quality of life of young women with acne vulgaris is impaired,” the authors confirmed. “However, greater adherence to an antioxidant diet reduces the risk of acne vulgaris impact on quality of life.”