INTRODUCTION:

Acne is a chronic inflammatory skin condition that has a high prevalence and a strong psychosocial impact. The role of diet, specially dairy products, in acne is uncertain.

OBJECTIVES:

With this review we intend to determine if there is an association between dairy products’ consumption and acne.

METHODOLOGY:

Search for scientific evidence published between 2010 and 2021 in electronic databases using the MeSH terms “Dairy Products” or “Milk” or “Cheese” or “Yogurt” and “Acne Vulgaris" and “Humans”.

RESULTS:

We obtained 36 articles, seven that accomplished the inclusion criteria: one guideline, two systematic reviews with metanalysis, one cross-sectional study and three case control studies. Three studies found an association between acne and unspecified dairy consumption. Five out of six studies that studied milk consumption showed that it was associated with acne. Only one out of four studies that studied yogurt consumption found an acne-milk association. Evidence is controversial as to cheese.

CONCLUSIONS:

To summarize, there seems to be an association between milk consumption and acne development. However, the evidence is controversial as to other dairy products. Further studies are needed to clarify this relationship.

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