Psoriasis has been associated in the past with being
overweight. A new study has sought to explore this phenomenon further.
Dr. Jensen et al. have thought about expanding this further
to see exactly what kind of an impact obesity has on the skin condition whereby
a type of white blood cells (T-cells) start, erroneously, to damage normal skin
cells. They divided the sample group in two and they asked the first group to
continue eating healthily while they gave the second group (the test group) a
specific low-energy diet. As predicted, the second group lost more weight and
this caused, in turn, an improvement of their psoriasis condition. Researchers
measured the improvement by two different means: the Psoriasis Area and
Severity Index (PASI) and the Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI).
Findings were significantly different when comparing the
second group to the first group through the DLQI. The second group in fact,
scored better than the first. However, even though the PASI test showed
insightful results (the second group showing more improvements than the first),
the findings through this metric were not statistically significant. Therefore,
this study should be replicated in order to test out its validity and
reliability. The findings also suggest that obesity is not the only factor that
affects psoriasis, and that further research is needed to study additional
factors that might relieve symptoms of psoriasis on individuals suffering from
the condition.
Inasmuch as this study did not reach
unanticipated results, it has highlighted that it is important for patients
with psoriasis, who are also overweight, to seriously consider reducing their
weight, as this is more likely to improve their skin health as well as their
general wellbeing.