Seborrheic dermatitis is a common integument impairment which causes are still not known. There are different factors that may predispose to this disease such as male sex, winter season, light skin color, and Malassezia yeast1. Because the effect of topical corticosteroids and antifungals is temporary, it is crucial to identify the factors that may relief symptoms. The article written by Sanders2 examines the relationship between diet and seborrheic dermatitis. The purpose of the study was to identify the effect of antioxidant capacity and specific dietary patterns on the occurrence of the diseases. The experiment was done by using food frequency questionnaires and principal component analysis. The strength of the research is in the physician-based diagnosis, large sample size, and presence of different epidemiological factors that provided authors with the opportunity to control for confounders. The author’s main point is that high consumption of fruits may reduce the likelihood of having the disease, while Western dietary pattern increases the occurrence of the disease. Moreover, it was found that there is no connection between seborrheic dermatitis and diet with high vegetable and oil composition and antioxidant capacity.
The fruit consumption can reduce the occurrence of seborrheic dermatitis as it contains different groups of vitamins that can reduce inflammation. Moreover, fruits contain nutrients that can be donors of methyl groups, which prevent inflammatory genes expression. Another support for the argument that Sanders2 bring is the presence of psoralen in fruits. Psoralen which is highly prevalent in citrus fruits increases skin sensitivity to the ultraviolet radiation. This seems to decrease the occurrence of dermatitis because it is less prevalent during summertime.
The Western diet which is characterized by processed food and meat consumption was found to induce symptoms of seborrheic dermatitis. The reason for this lies in the presence of Omega-6-fatty acids that serve as markers of inflammation. However, the results differed between males and females, so that females who adhered to Western diet were more likely to have the disease, while males were less likely to develop dermatitis.
Reactive oxygen species are believed to promote inflammatory response and are one of the causes of inflammatory skin diseases. That is why Sanders2 supposed that high dietary antioxidant intake will decrease prevalence of seborrheic dermatitis. However, according to the result of this study, participants who consumed antioxidant rich products did not show decreased prevalence of the disease. This means that the effect of oral antioxidants on seborrheic dermatitis is limited. However, more research should be done on this issue.
In general, the article does not have any underlying assumptions or biases as the authors present multiple views on the issues. The arguments are supported by research and primary sources. Moreover, the article comes from the peer-reviewed journal and the purpose is to disseminate research meaning that it is safe from bias. I agree that the dietary pattern can affect the prevalence of seborrheic dermatitis. Particularly, fruits that contain vitamins A and E can positively influence the condition of the skin. In addition, as it is believed that seborrheic dermatitis is caused by Malassezia yeast, proper diet can remove this organism from the body. However, the study has limitations such as composition of the sample size that included mostly elderly and middle-aged people, and inability to make casual inferences. These limitations did not allow to fully investigate the issue.
References
Sanders MGH, Pardo LM, Franco OH, Ginger RS, Nijsten, T. Prevalence and determinants of seborrhoeic dermatitis in a middle-aged and elderly population: the Rotterdam Study. Br J Dermatol. 2018; 78: 148-153.
Sanders MGH, Pardo LM, Ginger, RS, Kiefte-de Jong, JC, Nijsten, T. Association between diet and seborrheic dermatitis: A cross-sectional study. Journal of Investigative Dermatology. 2019; 139(1): 108-114.