Low Glycemic Load or Index Diet in Association with Acne Vulgaris: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

 Social life can be affected by skin condition. Acne Vulgaris (AV) is a multi - factorial skin disorder that affects many people . Several dietary factors are associated with AV.

Different finding s on glycemic indices led us to investigate the effect of the dietary glycemic index (GI) and glycemic load (GL) on AV by a systematic review and meta - analysis.

Observational studies and clinical trials were extracted from PubMed, EMBASE, Scopus, and Google Scholar. The mean ± Standard division ( SD ) for acne grading in clinical trials and the mean ± SD GI or GL of the diet for observational studies were used for meta - analysis.

We found that n ine out of 15 studies were eligible for systematic review clinical trials (N = 3) and observational studies ( N = 6) designs . T he meta - analysis of t hree studies clinically assessed the effect of GI/GL on acne and showed that a diet with lower GI/GL reduce d the acne severity (Hedges’g = - 0.91, 95% CI: - 1.57, - 0.25, P = 0.007). The analysis of six observational studies showed that dietary habit with higher GI might not affect the acne severity in patients with AV (He dges’g = 0.07, 95%CI: - 0.23, 0.38, P = 0.636), but individuals with higher acne severity had a diet with higher GL (Hedges’g = 0.64, 95%CI: 0.01, 1.26, P = 0.045).

Diet, as a part of life style , is associated with AV. Adherence to lower GL diet may reduce the severity of AV. Further well - designed clinical trials are required to confirm these results