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Life sciences · Journal article
Jeadv Clinical Practice · September 4, 2026
Encouraging direction, but not yet definitive.
This cross-sectional study found that greater adherence to Danish national dietary guidelines was associated with lower hidradenitis suppurativa severity (p = 0.003) after adjustment for obesity and smoking. The association is statistically significant but observational; the study cannot establish whether diet causally influences disease severity or is a marker of overall health behaviour. Clinical significance and generalisability beyond the Danish population remain to be determined.
Cross-sectional study. Patients with hidradenitis suppurativa from outpatient dermatology clinics; specific inclusion/exclusion criteria not detailed.. Intervention: Adherence to national dietary guidelines (grouped into low, intermediate, high categories by FFQ response).. Compared with: Comparisons made between adherence groups and between IHS4 severity groups; no external dietary control group mentioned.. n = 131. Two dermatology departments; country not explicitly stated but context suggests Denmark (Danish Health Authorities referenced)..
Greater adherence to national dietary guidelines associated with lower HS severity after adjusting for obesity and smoking (p = 0.003) 99 of 131 patients (75.6%) had mild-to-moderate disease (IHS4 < 11); 25 (19.1%) had severe disease (IHS4 ≥ 11) No significant difference in reported intake of cake/biscuits/sweets, fast food, fish, vegetables, or wholegrain between IHS4 < 11 and IHS4 ≥ 11 groups
Safety was not reported in the material analysed. Check the source before drawing any conclusion about harm.
The finding suggests diet may play a role in HS severity and warrants prospective investigation. Clinicians may counsel HS patients on adherence to general dietary guidelines, though this study cannot establish whether diet modification will improve disease outcomes. Controlled intervention trials are needed before recommending specific dietary interventions.
A cross-sectional study with clear dietary assessment and a statistically significant association between adherence to guidelines and disease severity, but observational design limits causal inference and the mechanism remains unclear.
As stated by the source record.
Quoted from the source exactly as published.
The finding suggests diet may play a role in HS severity and warrants prospective investigation. Clinicians may counsel HS patients on adherence to general dietary guidelines, though this study cannot establish whether diet modification will improve disease outcomes. Controlled intervention trials are needed before recommending specific dietary interventions.
Graded across the dimensions that decide whether you should act, each from what the source actually supports. There is no single score, and where a dimension was not assessed it says so.
ABSTRACT Background Hidradenitis suppurativa (HS) is a chronic immune‐mediated inflammatory skin disease associated with obesity and metabolic syndrome. However, the role of diet is still unexplored. Objectives The aim of this study was to describe dietary habits in patients with HS and to examine the association between an unhealthy diet and disease severity. Methods In this cross‐sectional study we included patients with HS from out‐patient clinics of two different departments of dermatology. Patients were enrolled from September 2023 to November 2024. Dietary information was assessed using a food frequency questionnaire (FFQ). The participants were grouped into three: low, intermediate, and high adherence to general dietary guidelines by the Danish Health Authorities. Severity of HS was assessed using the International Hidradenitis Suppurativa Severity Score System (IHS4). The association between adherence to dietary guidelines and HS severity was examined using multivariable logistic regression model adjusted for obesity and smoking. Results Out of 131 patients enrolled in this study, 99 had mild‐to‐moderate disease (IHS4 < 11) while 25 had severe disease (IHS4 ≥ 11). The most frequently reported diets were either “healthy and varied diet” or “no specific diet”. Intermittent fasting was practiced by 11% of the participants. Patients with IHS4 < 11 reported similar frequency of intake of cake/biscuits/sweets, fast food, fish, vegetables and wholegrain as patients with IHS4 ≥ 11. Foods that exacerbated or alleviated the patients' skin condition were reported by 16.5% of the participants. Greater adherence to the national dietary guidelines was associated with a lower severity of HS, also after adjusting for obesity and smoking ( p = 0.003). Conclusions A healthy diet seems to be associated with lower disease burden in patients with HS and might indicate that diet itself has a potential beneficial effect on HS severity.
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