title: Salty and spicy food; are they involved in the pathogenesis of acne vulgaris? A case controlled study.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Many studies have suggested a strong relation between diet and acne. Many patients with acne believe that spicy and salty foods exacerbate acne.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To assess the relationship between the dietary intake of salty and spicy food and the onset, severity, duration of acne.
  
  
  METHODS
  Two hundred patients with acne vulgaris and 200 age- and gender-matched controls were subjected to a detailed questionnaire taking, clinical examination and dietary assessment through using "24 h recall" method. Sodium content of the 24-h food intake was computed by a computer program connecting participants' dietary information to the food composition table of National Nutrition Institute data base.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Patients with acne consumed significantly higher daily amounts of sodium chloride (NaCl) (median 3367.54 mg) compared to the controls (median 2271.8 mg) (P < 0.001). A negative correlation between the amount of NaCl in the diet of patients with acne and the age of onset of acne lesions was detected (r = -0.216, P = 0.031). However, neither salty nor spicy food correlated with duration or severity of the disease.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Consumption of salty foods was significantly higher among patients with acne compared to acne free subjects, making the consumption of salty food a possible participating factor in the development of acne.
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, Faculty of Medicine, Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt.
authors.forename: M A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: El Darouti
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, Faculty of Medicine, Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt.
authors.forename: O A
authors.initials: OA
authors.lastname: Zeid
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, Faculty of Medicine, Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt.
authors.forename: D M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Abdel Halim
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, Faculty of Medicine, Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt.
authors.forename: R A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Hegazy
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, Faculty of Medicine, Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Kadry
authors.affiliation: Clinical Nutrition Department, National Nutrition Institute, Cairo, Egypt.
authors.forename: D I
authors.initials: DI
authors.lastname: Shehab
authors.affiliation: Clinical Nutrition Department, National Nutrition Institute, Cairo, Egypt.
authors.forename: H S
authors.initials: HS
authors.lastname: Abdelhaliem
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, Faculty of Medicine, Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt.
authors.forename: M A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Saleh
mesh_terms: D000152:Acne Vulgaris / Q000209:etiology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D004032:Diet / Q000009:adverse effects*; D018450:Disease Progression; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012016:Reference Values; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012965:Sodium Chloride / Q000009:adverse effects*; D017365:Spices / Q000009:adverse effects*; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D012965:Sodium Chloride
keywords: acne; diet; sodium chloride; spicy food