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Systematic review

Review of 10 publications: almost all reported skin benefits from collagen

Barati and colleagues · Journal of cosmetic dermatology · 2020

Original title: Collagen supplementation for skin health: A mechanistic systematic review.

Under review. A person has not yet checked this summary against the paper. It is written from the PubMed abstract. Until a person checks it, search engines are asked not to list this page.

What the study found

Points to benefit

Ten publications were included. Almost all reported benefits of collagen on skin, with no inconsistencies. The review also describes three ways collagen might work.

The study at a glance

Type of study
Systematic review
Who or what was studied
10 studies · Healthy people and patients in 10 publications
What was tested
Collagen by mouth, whole or broken down, and how it might work in the body
What it measured
Several kinds of outcomes
Who has a stake
No disclosure in PubMed
No disclosure in PubMed.
Journal
Journal of cosmetic dermatology, 2020
Source
PubMed record 32436266. This page is based on the abstract only.

How much this study counts

  • •Sums up 10 studies found with a set search method, without pooling the numbers.
  • •Measured several kinds of outcomes.
  • •The PubMed record has no conflict-of-interest statement.
  • •Summarized from the PubMed abstract only. The full paper may hold details the abstract leaves out.

✓ Strength– Limit• Note

These points come from fixed rules about the type of study, its size and length, what it measured, and who has a stake. Every study on Digestery gets the same rules.

Where this study sits

This paper is not on the ladder. It is a systematic review, and reviews and opinion pieces discuss studies that are already counted on the steps below.

↑ Stronger evidence

  1. Trials in people: wrinkles, skin elasticity and moisture

    15

    13 benefit, 2 mixed

  2. Trials in people: other measures

    1

    1 benefit

  3. Trials in people: lab tests or safety

    0

    None among the papers we read.

  4. Population studies

    0

    None among the papers we read.

  5. Blood levels and genes

    0

    None among the papers we read.

↓ Weaker evidence

  • Points to benefit
  • Mixed
  • No difference
  • No direction
  • Points to harm

How it fits with the other research

The short answer to “Does collagen reduce skin aging?”

Unclear; higher-quality trials found no effect.

Confidence: low. Based on 22 on-topic papers.

Read the full answer
  • Listed with the other papers, but not quoted in the page’s main findings.

Other reviews on this question

See all 22 studies on this question

How this page was made

Label

First read of the abstract
Claude Sonnet
Independent second read
Claude Haiku
Differences settled
The two reads differed. The reviewer checked the abstract and kept the first read. Claude Opus 5.5.
Headline
Claude Sonnet, from the checked study record. A script checked its numbers and wording.
Numbers
Checked against the abstract by a script
“How much this study counts”
Fixed rules, the same for every study
Source check by a person
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