Abstract
Hidradenitis suppurativa (HS) is a chronic inflammatory skin condition whose pathogenesis is not well established. An association between HS and obesity is suggested but few studies explore specific dietary drivers. Non-Hispanic Blacks have the highest HS prevalence and obesity rates as well as the highest UPFs consumption rates, as opposed to Hispanics who have the lowest prevalence of HS despite having the second highest obesity rates in the US. Instead, Hispanics have the lowest UPFs consumption and highest minimally processed foods consumption rates in the US. Since HS appears to correlate more with processed food intake than obesity, we explored this connection more carefully. To identify correlations, we cross referenced 3 sources: (1) relative search volume (RSV) on Google Searches for HS. (2) Published data on prevalence of HS and UPFs consumption by nation, state, race, and age. (3) NHANES data on variation of diet patterns in the US. We identified a strong correlation of RSV and UPFs and HS by country (r = 0.83, p < 0.0001) and state in the US (r = 0.82, p < 0.0001) compared to a negative control (melanoma with UPFs; r = 0.35, p = 0.14 by country and r = 0.22, p = 0.23 by state). The variation in searches for HS from 2004 till 2018 (p < 0.0001) was strongly correlated with the increase in UPFs consumption (r = 0.79, p = 0.019) and inversely correlated with the decrease in minimally-processed foods consumption in the US (r = − 0.941, p = 0.0005). These results suggest an association between UPFs consumption and HS, and the need for future studies to address whether limiting UPFs might ameliorate HS.
Data availability
The analysis presented in this paper relies entirely on previously published data. All datasets analyzed are available in the public domain or through the respective published articles. Detailed references to the original sources of the data are provided in the bibliography.
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Funding
This work was funded by the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS) under R01 AR074846 and R56 AR082660 to LG.
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N.H. wrote the main manuscript and prepared the figure; all authors (N.H., B.B.; K.W. and L.G.) contributed to the conceptualization and methodology, and reviewed and edited the manuscript; L.G. provided supervision for the entire project.
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Haddad, N.R., Badiei, B., Williams, K.L. et al. Positive correlation of hidradenitis suppurativa and ultra-processed foods consumption. Arch Dermatol Res 316, 172 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00403-024-02947-9
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00403-024-02947-9