Does Dairy Contribute to Teen Acne? A Review of the Evidence

Acne vulgaris is extremely common during adolescence, and many ask whether diet—including dairy—plays a role. Over the last two decades, observational studies and meta-analyses have examined whether milk, skim/low-fat milk, or other dairy intake is associated with acne in teens and young adults. Below are five notable studies (and a few reviews) with links and main findings.

1. High school dietary dairy intake and teenage acne (Burris et al., 2005)

Link: PubMed abstract — High school dietary dairy intake and teenage acne PubMed
Key points:

  • This observational study looked at high school students’ self-reported dairy intake and prevalence of acne, adjusting for age, BMI, etc.

  • They found a positive association between total milk intake and acne (prevalence ratio 1.22 for highest vs lowest category) and a similar (though somewhat weaker) trend for skim milk. PubMed

  • The authors hypothesized that hormones or bioactive molecules in milk might partly explain this association. ScienceDirect+1

2. Milk consumption and acne in adolescent girls (Adebamowo et al., 2005)

Link: PubMed abstract — Milk consumption and acne in adolescent girls PubMed
Key findings:

  • Among adolescent girls, those with higher milk intake (≥ 2 servings/day vs <1/week) had higher prevalence of acne:

    • Total milk: PR ≈ 1.20 (95% CI 1.09–1.31)

    • Whole milk: PR ≈ 1.19

    • Low-fat milk: PR ≈ 1.17

    • Skim milk: PR ≈ 1.19 PubMed+2eScholarship+2

  • The associations held even when excluding girls using hormonal contraceptives. eScholarship+1

3. Milk consumption and acne in teenaged boys (Danby et al. / cohort from Growing Up Today Study)

Link: PMC full text — Milk consumption and acne in teenaged boys PMC
Highlights:

  • This prospective cohort among boys (aged ~9–15 at baseline) investigated dairy intake and subsequent acne risk.

  • The highest vs lowest intake of skim milk was associated with prevalence ratio ≈ 1.19 (1.01–1.40). PMC

  • The authors discussed the possibility that skim milk or low-fat milks contain hormonal or bioactive constituents that could influence acne development. PMC

4. Consumption of dairy in teenagers with and without acne (Shen et al. / J Am Acad Dermatol, 2016)

Link: PubMed abstract — Consumption of dairy in teenagers with and without acne PubMed+1
Main results:

  • In this case-control style study, participants with acne reported significantly higher consumption of low-fat/skim milk, but not full-fat milk, compared to those without acne. PubMed

  • No significant differences were seen in overall dairy intake, saturated fat, glycemic load, or BMI between groups. PubMed

  • The authors caution that this is cross-sectional and self-report, so causality can’t be inferred. J Am Acad Dermatol+1

5. Dairy consumption and acne: a case-control study in Kabul, Afghanistan (Aalemi et al.)

Link: Full text — Dairy consumption and acne: a case control study in Kabul Dove Medical Press
Key findings:

  • Among youth aged 10–24, consuming whole milk ≥ 3 days/week was associated with moderate-to-severe acne (OR = 2.36, 95% CI 1.39–4.01). Dove Medical Press

  • Low-fat milk also showed a positive but weaker association (OR = 1.95, 95% CI 1.10–3.45). Dove Medical Press

  • The study also found that having a family history of acne strongly increased risk (OR ≈ 4.13 for siblings). Dove Medical Press

Meta-Analyses and Systematic Reviews

Because individual studies may have limited power, meta-analyses help synthesize results across many studies. A few of the more relevant ones:

  • “Dairy Intake and Acne Vulgaris: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis” (published in Nutrients)
    This review included 14 observational studies (n ≈ 78,529). They reported that dairy intake was associated with higher odds of acne: OR ≈ 1.25 (any dairy), OR ≈ 1.28 (any milk), OR ≈ 1.22 (whole milk), OR ≈ 1.32 (low-fat/skim), and OR ≈ 1.22 for cheese, OR ≈ 1.36 for yogurt. PMC+1

  • “Dairy intake and acne development: A meta-analysis”
    This meta-analysis found positive relationships for dairy overall, total milk, whole milk, low-fat milk, and skim milk. The OR for skim milk was particularly strong (OR ≈ 1.82). PubMed+2ScienceDirect+2

  • “Diet and acne: A systematic review” (JAAD International, 2022)
    This more recent review found that the evidence for dairy is less consistent across populations, and suggested that dairy's pro-acne effects may be more pronounced in Western-diet populations. JAA International+1

Interpretation, Mechanisms, and Limitations

What these studies suggest, and what they don’t

  • Many observational studies point to a positive association between milk (especially skim or low-fat) and acne in adolescents.

    The associations are modest (i.e. not huge effect sizes) and vary by dairy type, population, sex, and study design.

    Causation is not established: confounding factors (overall diet, sugar intake, glycemic load, hormones, and lifestyle) could influence both dairy consumption and acne risk.

    Meta-analyses suggest that the association is present, but heterogeneity, publication bias, and study quality issues remain.

    And while dairy corporations spend billions marketing milk as “healthy,” they could easily fund large, well-controlled studies to disprove these findings — but they don’t. That silence speaks louder than their slogans.

Proposed biological mechanisms

Researchers propose several pathways by which dairy might influence acne:

  1. Hormones / growth factors in milk

    • Milk naturally contains low levels of androgens, estrogens, and insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1), which might stimulate sebum production or follicle keratinization.

    • Skim and low-fat milks may have relatively higher insulinogenic proteins (whey) and fewer fat-soluble inhibitory compounds.

  2. Effect on insulin / IGF-1 axis

    • Dairy proteins, especially whey and casein, may increase insulin and IGF-1 signaling, which can upregulate pathways (e.g. mTOR) that promote sebaceous gland lipogenesis.

    • Elevated IGF-1 levels have been associated with acne severity in some studies.

  3. Inflammation / microbiome effects

    • Some hypothesize that dairy may induce low-grade systemic inflammation or alter gut microbiota in susceptible individuals, which could contribute to cutaneous inflammation.

  4. Interaction with glycemic load / diet

    • Dairy may interact with high glycemic diets (which themselves impact insulin/IGF pathways), exacerbating the effect.

Limitations & caveats to keep in mind

  • Observational nature — none (to date) are randomized controlled trials where dairy intake was manipulated with acne as a primary outcome.

  • Self-reported diet — recall bias, misreporting, measurement error.

  • Population-specific effects — associations may differ by ethnicity, genetics, baseline diet, or geography.

  • Publication bias / heterogeneity — positive findings are more likely to be published; meta-analyses detect heterogeneity.

  • Reverse causality — e.g. teens with acne might change their diet (though less likely for milk).

  • Effect size modestness — dairy is unlikely to be the sole or dominant driver of acne for most individuals.