Milk & Acne in Young Adults: MAYA pilot trial
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Pilot study investigating the effectiveness of a dairy-free diet in acne patients.
IRAS ID
134216
Contact name
Stacey Fisher
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
North Cumbria University Hospitals NHS Trust
Research summary
Acne is a very common skin disorder in adolescents and young adults. It can cause physical and emotional problems. Current (medical) treatment focuses on treating the symptoms, namely drying out the skin, antibiotic treatment of the residing P.acne bacteria, and reduction of inflammation of the skin. Acne is thought to be cause by multiple factors, and hormones play a key role.
In order to control acne it would be preferable to have a treatment available that targets the cause of acne, rather than the symptoms.
Population studies have shown that milk is associated with increased severity of acne in young people and women. Milk consumption is generally much higher in 1st World countries. Analysis of populations that do not consume milk has shown that people there do not experience any acne symptoms. There has, however, not yet been a trial performed where milk/dairy has been excluded from the diet of people with acne - this study aims to investigate if an exclusion diet is acceptable and if symptoms can be controlled or reduced by taking dairy out of their diet. Participants, recruited via e-mail, will be asked to complete a food frequency list for the foods&drinks they have consumed in the last 4 weeks before commencing the dairy-free diet (baseline assessment). Then they will be followed up at 6 weeks and 12 weeks into the trial. At 12 weeks they will be asked about their diet again. At baseline, 6wks and 12wks they will also be asked about their acne and quality of life, and they will be asked to submit a photo of their face. The photos will be assessed for acne severity by two assessors who are blinded to the timepoint of the photos. Overall the study also assesses if a remotely run clinical research study is feasible.REC name
North West - Preston Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
13/NW/0533
Date of REC Opinion
21 Aug 2013
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion