Patients with hidradenitis suppurativa showed higher rates of processed food consumption and plastic container use compared with controls, according to a new study,

In the study, published in The Journal of Investigative Dermatology, researchers at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine examined 20 patients with hidradenitis suppurativa (HS) and 20 healthy controls through physical assessments and surveys.

The study population included patients with a mean age of 39.8 years. Demographic analysis showed 72.5% were female, and 42.5% identified as Black. The patients reported significantly lower annual household incomes (P = .04) and presented with darker Fitzpatrick skin types (P = .04). 

Disease characteristics in the study population included an average diagnosis age of 25.65 years. The Hurley stage distribution showed stage I at 20%, stage II at 45%, and stage III at 35%. Ninety percent of the patients experienced an active flare during the study period, with 25% reporting a positive family history.

The patients with HS demonstrated a higher body mass index (mean [SD] = 35.48 [9.09] vs 25.85 [5.90], P = .0003) and consumed fewer home-cooked meals (mean [SD] = 8.5 [5.51] vs 13.15 [6.70], P = .02).

The research, conducted under IRB approval NA_00033375, found that the patients with HS consumed more canned beverages (mean [SD] = 6.7 [6.66] vs 2.8 [2.91], P = .02) and reported increased use of plastic containers for microwaving food and frequent use of single-use water bottles (P = .01).

The researchers documented increased sweating frequency (P = .03) among the patients with HS. Affected areas included the groin, buttocks, armpits, infra-mammary region, and abdominal folds.

Patient surveys identified sweating (80%), stress (60%), and fast foods/canned beverages (50%) as factors associated with symptom exacerbation. When asked about interventions, 82.35% of the patients reported dietary changes as helpful, with 41.17% identifying dietary modifications as their most effective intervention.

The research team analyzed EPIC SlicerDicer data spanning 1994 to 2023, comparing annual unique HS cases to psoriasis cases to track disease prevalence.

Study limitations included the small sample size and potential confounding factors such as gender, income, race, and weight. The findings represented correlations rather than causal relationships.

The National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIH) funded this research under R01 AR074846 and R56 AR082660.

A conflict of interest statement can be found in the study.