Relationship between Diet, Cosmetics and Degree of Acne Vulgaris in Dermatovenereology Outpatients at Dr. Soetomo General Hospital, Surabaya

Abstract

Introduction Acne vulgaris (AV) is a chronic obstructive and inflammatory dermatoses, seen mainly in adolescent and involves the sebaceous follicle. Scarring and pigmentation might be caused by the characteristic lesions such as open (black) and closed (white) comedones, inflammatory papules, pustules, nodules and cysts. 1 Acne vulgaris is a condition which is caused by multiple factors. However, the pathogenic factors involved are revolved around the interaction between follicular hyperkeratinisation, colonization of P. acnes, increased sebum production and inflammation. The factors that will cause acne vulgaris includes, hormonal, genetics, diet, stress, cosmetics etc. 1 Lately, dietary factors such as insulin resistance and dietary carbohydrates have been associated with the etiology of acne. Some people believe chocolate and oily foods are the culprit of getting acne. Milk is also commonly associated with the occurrence of acne. Many recent studies investigate the role of diet as the cause of acne vulgaris. A few studies were carried out to support the hypothesis that high glycemic index (GI) diet and dairy products are related to this skin condition. However, the effects of diet on acne are still controversial. Other than diet, cosmetics which is widely used especially among generation Y and Z is also one of the factors that will influence the occurrence of acne vulgaris. Some cosmetic products that increase the risk of whiteheads Abstract Background: Acne vulgaris (AV) is a chronic inflammatory multifactorial disease that involves the pilosebaceous unit. The lesions of acne may be either non-inflammatory (comedones, which are blackheads or whiteheads) or inflammatory lesions (papules, nodules or pustules). The effects of diet and cosmetics on acne are still inconclusive. The objective of this study was to analyse the relationship between diet, cosmetics and the degree of AV.