A pilot study to determine the short-term effects of a low glycemic load diet on hormonal markers of acne: a nonrandomized, parallel, controlled feeding trial
Open accessAbstract
Observational evidence suggests that dietary glycemic load may be one environmental factor contributing to the variation in acne prevalence worldwide. To investigate the effect of a low glycemic load (LGL) diet on endocrine aspects of acne vulgaris , 12 male acne sufferers (17.0 ± 0.4 years) completed a parallel, controlled feeding trial involving a 7‐day admission to a housing facility. Subjects consumed either an LGL diet ( n = 7; 25% energy from protein and 45% from carbohydrates) or a high glycemic load (HGL) diet ( n = 5; 15% energy from protein, 55% energy from carbohydrate). Study outcomes included changes in the homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA‐IR), sex hormone binding globulin (SHBG), free androgen index (FAI), insulin‐like growth factor‐I (IGF‐I), and its binding proteins (IGFBP‐I and IGFBP‐3). Changes in HOMA‐IR were significantly different between groups at day 7 (–0.57 for LGL vs. 0.14 for HGL, p = 0.03). SHBG levels decreased significantly from baseline in the HGL group ( p = 0.03), while IGFBP‐I and IGFBP‐3 significantly increased ( p = 0.03 and 0.03, respectively) in the LGL group. These results suggest that increases in dietary glycemic load may augment the biological activity of sex hormones and IGF‐I, suggesting that these diets may aggravate potential factors involved in acne development.
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All interventional trials included examined the effect of GI/glycemic load on acne.
“All the interventional trials included examined the effect of GI/glycemic load on acne (Table IV).47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52”
From Diet and acne: A systematic review (2022) · cites this paper as [49]
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Guidelines of care for the management of acne vulgaris
Zaenglein, A. L., Pathy, A. L., Schlosser, B. J., Alikhan, A., Baldwin, H. E., Berson, D. S., Bowe, W. P., Graber, E. M., Harper, J. C., Kang, S., et al. (2016) · Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology · doi:10.1016/j.jaad.2015.12.037 · Cited by 1,597 · see citing works
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Diet and acne: A systematic review
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Acne: The role of medical nutrition therapy
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- Authors
- Smith, R., Mann, N., Mäkeläinen, H., Roper, J., Braue, A., & Varigos, G.
- Affiliations
- RMIT University (AU)
- The Royal Melbourne Hospital (AU)
- University of Turku (FI)
- Royal Children's Hospital (AU)
- Corresponding author
- Smith, Robyn
- ORCID
- Varigos, George
- Venue
- Molecular Nutrition & Food Research
- Publisher
- Wiley
- Published
- 2008-06
- Volume
- 52
- Issue
- 6
- Pages
- 718-726
- ISSN
- 1613-4125 (ISSN-L)
- 1613-4133
- OpenAlex
- W1968682578
- Cited by
- 98
- References
- 4
- Citations by year
- 2026: 3 · 2025: 2 · 2024: 7 · 2023: 2 · 2022: 6 · 2021: 7 · 2020: 2 · 2019: 7 · 2018: 5 · 2017: 5 · 2016: 6 · 2015: 2 · 2014: 8 · 2013: 9 · 2012: 9
- FWCI
- 6.14
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- figshare.com
- Locations
- Molecular Nutrition & Food Research (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- RMIT Research Repository (RMIT University Library) (submittedVersion)
- Figshare (submittedVersion, cc-by)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Dermatology › Acne and Rosacea Treatments and Effects
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Reproductive Medicine › Ovarian function and disorders
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism › Diet, Metabolism, and Disease
- Keywords
- acne, glycemic load, low glycemic load diet, insulin resistance, sex hormone-binding globulin, free androgen index, insulin-like growth factor I, IGF binding proteins, sex hormones, dietary carbohydrates, adolescent boys
- MeSH terms
- Acne Vulgaris, Adolescent, Adult, Androgens, Blood Glucose, Capillaries, Diet, Dietary Carbohydrates, Food, Humans, Insulin, Insulin Resistance, Insulin-Like Growth Factor I, Lipids, Male, Pilot Projects, Sex Hormone-Binding Globulin, Testosterone, Insulin-Like Growth Factor Binding Proteins, Glycemic Index
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