Abstract
Abstract The potential role of diet in psoriasis has been the subject of considerable interest in recent years, yet the evidence remains limited. This study aims to describe the dietary habits of patients with psoriasis, including the use of nutritional supplements and adherence to national dietary guidelines. This cross-sectional study included patients with psoriasis from a prospective observational cohort from a university hospital. At inclusion or at the annual visit, the participants completed a questionnaire about dietary habits. Anthropometric measurements and information about treatments were recorded by a healthcare professional. We enrolled 466 participants in this study, with a mean age of 49 (SD ± 16) and 44% of whom were women. The mean body mass index (BMI) was 28.3 (±6.5), with 66% of the participants being overweight or obese. Eighty-one per cent of the patients received systemic treatments (conventional therapies or biologics) and 19% solely used topical therapies. The median psoriasis area and severity index was 2.5 (range, 0–40.8). In the self-reported questionnaire about dietary habits, 53% participants indicated that they adhere to a ‘a healthy and varied diet’, whereas 39% stated that they do not follow any specific diet. Around 18% reported to eat organic food, and 5% followed a vegan or vegetarian diet. Almost 10% reported to practice some kind of intermittent fasting. Only very few participants followed other diets such as Mediterranean (4%), Ketogenic/Low Carb High Fat (3%), or anti-inflammatory diet (2%). Half of the participants reported eating wholegrain and vegetables daily, and 73% marked eating fast food less than once a week. However, more than half of them also reported consuming sweets several times a week or daily. When comparing the dietary habits of the participants to guidelines from the national health authorities, 90% showed high or intermediate adherence to these guidelines. Notably, 34% of participants with mild psoriasis showed a high adherence to guidelines compared with 16% with moderate-to-severe psoriasis. Interestingly, only 16% experienced that specific food products triggered their psoriasis, most commonly being alcohol, sugar, and processed food. Even fewer (7%) experienced that specific food products improved their psoriasis. Regarding nutritional supplements, 37, 41, and 23% of the participants reported daily use of multivitamins, vitamin D supplements, and omega-3, respectively. In conclusion, most participants reported following ‘a healthy and varied diet’, and a healthy dietary pattern was confirmed when comparing the intake of specific food products to the national dietary guidelines, with 90% of the participants showing either high or intermediate adherence to the national dietary guidelines.
Published Version
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