Mediterranean Diet Adherence and Acne Vulgaris Severity in an Iranian Population: A Case-Control Study

Although the development of acne is influenced by a range of factors, emerging research suggests that dietary choices may also play a role in acne management. The Mediterranean diet is an antioxidant-rich, low-glycemic diet with preventive benefit against a range of chronic illnesses. We aimed to investigate the adherence to Mediterranean diet in acne patients and its association with disease severity.

In this case-control study, 105 patients with acne and 105 control individuals were enrolled and their clinical and demographic characteristics were assessed. A valid Persian version of a 14-item questionnaire called the Mediterranean diet adherence screener (MEDAS) was used to assess adherence to the Mediterranean diet.

We did not find any significant difference regarding adherence to Mediterranean diet between patients and control group (p value = 0.19). 68.6% of male and 54.3% of female patients had low adherence to the Mediterranean diet. There was no significant difference between diet adherence and most of clinical and demographic characteristics of participants including the type of acne, age of onset, gender, disease duration, treatment type, and diet adherence (p > 0.05). A statistical correlation was found between BMI and diet adherence, with p < 0.05. Total adherence to the Mediterranean diet among patients was significantly correlated with disease severity (p value = 0.004). We also found significant correlations between disease severity and consumption of some items in the questionnaire including olive oil, butter, nuts and poultry (P values: 0.014, 0.018, 0.005 and 0.018, respectively).

Our results suggest beneficial associations between certain aspects of the Mediterranean diet and milder acne severity. Adherence to this healthy dietary pattern may represent a practical adjuvant approach for acne management.