How was the Mediterranean diet associated with the severity of psoriasis?

Bottom Line: Adherence to a Mediterranean diet, a diet filled with fruits and vegetables, legumes, cereals, bread, fish, fruits, nuts and extra-virgin olive oil, may be associated with the severity of the state of the skin psoriasis.

Why the research is interesting: Psoriasis is a common chronic inflammatory skin disorder. Studies have suggested that adherence to a healthy diet, such as the Mediterranean diet, could reduce the risk of long-term systemic inflammation. This study evaluated the association between a score that reflects adherence to the Mediterranean diet and the onset or severity of psoriasis.

Who and when: 35,735 respondents who are part of an online survey based on an observation questionnaire, launched in 2009, of which 3,557 reported having had psoriasis; the condition was serious in 878 cases and 299 new ones were recorded as those occurring more than two years after inclusion in the study group

What (Study Measures): Patients with psoriasis were identified via a self-completed online questionnaire and ranked by severity of the disease; Food intake data were collected during the first two years of participation in the study group to calculate a score reflecting adherence to a Mediterranean diet of 0 for no adhesion to 18 for one year. maximum adhesion.

How (Study Design): It was an observational study. Because the researchers did not intervene for the purpose of the study, they can not control the natural differences that could explain the results of the study.

Authors: Céline Phan, M.D., Mondor Hospital, Créteil, France, and co-authors

Results: There was an "inverse" association between adherence to a Mediterranean diet and the severity of psoriasis, suggesting that patients with severe psoriasis adhere less strongly to the Mediterranean diet, even after taking into account other potential mitigating factors.

Limitations of the study: The study participants were all volunteers and they could be more concerned about their health than the general population, the data was self-reported and some data was missing.

More information:
// jamanetwork.com/journals/jamadermatology/fullarticle/10.1001/jamadermatol.2018.2127[19659002Supported by The JAMA Network Journals

This Phys.org Science News Wire page contains a press release issued by an organization mentioned above that is provided to you "as is" with little or no comments from Phys.Org staff.