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Dietary glycemic index and glucose, insulin, insulin-like growth factor-I, insulin-like growth factor binding protein 3, and leptin levels in patients with acne

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaad.2007.06.028Get rights and content

Background

Several isolated observations have suggested that acne can develop in groups when a high glycemic index diet is adopted.

Objective

This study was designed to examine associations among daily diet glycemic index, glycemic loads, serum insulin levels, and acne.

Methods

A total of 49 patients with acne and 42 healthy control subjects were included in the study. At the initial visit, fasting glucose, insulin, insulin-like growth factor-I, insulin-like growth factor binding protein 3, and leptin levels were measured. A voluntary self-completed questionnaire was administered and participants were asked how frequently they consumed the specified amount of food. Overall glycemic index and dietary glycemic load were calculated.

Results

No significant differences were observed between patients with acne and control subjects in serum glucose, insulin, leptin levels, overall glycemic index, or dietary glycemic load.

Limitations

The information and data obtained from this questionnaire were limited to patients' own recollections.

Conclusion

Results of this study indicate that dietary glycemic index, glycemic load, and insulin levels do not have a role in pathogenesis of acne in younger patients.

Section snippets

Participants and protocol

This prospective cohort study was designed to examine associations among glycemic index of daily diet, serum insulin levels, and acne. A total of 49 university students with severe, moderate, or mild acne seen in our outpatient department and 42 healthy students who did not have acne (control group) were included in the study. The local ethics committee approved the study protocol.

At the initial visit the patients' age, sex, weight, height, and duration of acne were recorded. Body mass index

Results

Among the 49 university students with acne, 19 (38.8%) were male and 30 (61.2%) were female. The ages were between 19 and 34 years (mean: 20.37 ± 1.944 years) and the duration of the condition lasted from 1 to 10 years (mean 3.7). Seventeen patients (34.6%) had mild, 27 (55.1%) had moderate, and 5 (10.2%) had severe acne. Control group constituted of 42 people, 16 (39.1%) male and 36 (61.9%) female. Patient and control groups were matched according to their age and sex. Table I shows the

Discussion

Non-Westernized diets are known to be free of processed foods, cereal grains, dairy products, refined sugars, and refined oils and almost entirely comprise unprocessed fresh fruits, vegetables, and lean meats, fish, and seafood.31 Dietary attitudes of the Turkish population resembles that of the Western population especially in the last decade. This resemblence is even moreso in university students regarding consumption of fast foods. Therefore, higher incidence of acne could be expected

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    Funding sources: None.

    Conflicts of interest: None declared.

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