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Volume 58, Issue 5, Pages 787-793 (May 2008)


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Milk consumption and acne in teenaged boys

Clement A. Adebamowo, MD, ScDaf, Donna Spiegelman, ScDbc, Catherine S. Berkey, ScDd, F. William Danby, MDeCorresponding Author Information, Helaine H. Rockett, MS, RDd, Graham A. Colditz, MD, DrPHacd, Walter C. Willett, MD, DrPHacd, Michelle D. Holmes, MD, DrPHd

Accepted 1 August 2007. published online 21 January 2008.

Refers to article:
Commentary: Diet and acne , 10 March 2008
Guy F. Webster
Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology
May 2008 (Vol. 58, Issue 5, Pages 794-795)
Full Text | Full-Text PDF (257 KB)
Objective

We sought to examine the association between dietary dairy intake and teenaged acne among boys.

Methods

This was a prospective cohort study. We studied 4273 boys, members of a prospective cohort study of youths and of lifestyle factors, who reported dietary intake on up to 3 food frequency questionnaires from 1996 to 1998 and teenaged acne in 1999. We computed multivariate prevalence ratios and 95% confidence intervals for acne.

Results

After adjusting for age at baseline, height, and energy intake, the multivariate prevalence ratios (95% confidence interval; P value for test of trend) for acne comparing highest (>2 servings/d) with lowest (<1/wk) intake categories in 1996 were 1.16 (1.01, 1.34; 0.77) for total milk, 1.10 (0.94, 1.28; 0.83) for whole/2% milk, 1.17 (0.99, 1.39; 0.08) for low-fat (1%) milk, and 1.19 (1.01, 1.40; 0.02) for skim milk.

Limitations

Not all members of the cohort responded to the questionnaire. Acne assessment was by self-report and boys whose symptoms might have been part of an underlying disorder were not excluded. We did not adjust for steroid use and other lifestyle factors that may affect occurrence of acne.

Conclusion

We found a positive association between intake of skim milk and acne. This finding suggests that skim milk contains hormonal constituents, or factors that influence endogenous hormones, in sufficient quantities to have biological effects in consumers.

a Department of Nutrition, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts

b Department of Biostatistics, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts

c Department of Epidemiology, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts

d Channing Laboratory, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts

e Dartmouth Medical School, Hanover, New Hampshire

f Division of Oncology, Department of Surgery, University of Ibadan, University College Hospital, Ibadan, Nigeria

Corresponding Author InformationCorrespondence to: F. William Danby, MD, 721 Chestnut St, Manchester, NH 03104-3002.

 Supported by the Boston Obesity Nutrition Research Center (DK 46200), a research grant (DK-46834) from the National Institutes of Health, the Breast Cancer Research Foundation, and the Kellogg Company.

 Conflicts of interest: None declared.

 Reprints not available from the authors.

PII: S0190-9622(07)02402-4

doi:10.1016/j.jaad.2007.08.049


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