Vitamin D levels found to be associated with the severity of the course of psoriasis
Vitamin D deficiency has been linked to the severity of psoriasis. Patients with a higher BSA score, which indicates the area of affected body surface area, had a higher percentage of people with vitamin D deficiency.Researchers from Brown University have found that vitamin D levels play an important role in the pathogenesis of psoriasis and may influence its severity. The findings, presented during the American Society for Nutrition (ASN) meeting, were published by Medscape.
Researchers found a linear relationship between vitamin D levels and the severity of the course of psoriasis. If vitamin D concentrations decreased, the body surface area (BSA) score, which reflects the area of body surface affected, increased, while patients with low BSA values had higher blood levels of vitamin D.
According to the scientists, increasing the consumption of foods rich in vitamin D and taking appropriate supplements will help reduce the severity of the course of psoriasis. The authors also pointed out the need to develop vitamin D creams to treat the disease.
Researchers used data from 40,401 study participants (NHANES) from 2003 to 2006 and from 2011 to 2014 and identified 491 cases of psoriasis.
One of the main parameters the researchers measured was the level of 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] in the participants' blood. A measure of body lesion area, which patients self-assessed, was used to assess the severity of psoriasis. BSA was measured in "palms" and indicated how large an area of the body was covered with rashes. According to this parameter, participants were divided into several groups: less than 1 palm, 1-2 palms, 3-10 palms and more than 10 palms.
Experts emphasize that more research is needed to better assess the relationship between vitamin D and psoriasis.