Posted by on March 3, 2011 - 5:50pm

Women who have more than two alcoholic drinks a week -- particularly nonlight beer -- appear to be at increased risk of developing the skin condition psoriasis.  The cohort study of almost 83,000 nurses -- over 1,000 of whom had cases of incident psoriasis -- found that among women who consumed 2.3 or more alcoholic drinks per week, the relative risk (the ratio of the risk of disease among those exposed to a risk factor to the risk among those not exposed, in this case a RR >1 indicates that there was a higher risk for psoriasis in the drinking group)  for psoriasis was 1.72 according to Abrar A. Qureshi, MD, of Harvard University in Boston, and colleagues.   Qureshi and co-authors reported their findings in the December Archives of Dermatology.

A few retrospective and case-control studies have suggested a possible link between alcohol use and psoriasis, particularly in men, the researchers noted.    To see if women's risk of the autoimmune skin disease was associated with alcohol, Qureshi's group analyzed data from the longitudinal Nurses' Health Study II, which began enrolling women in 1989 and periodically questioned them about health and health behaviors.

In 2005, 82,869 participants responded to a questionnaire asking whether they had ever been given a diagnosis of psoriasis; 2,430 women reported that they had.Follow-up for the current analysis began in 1991, the first year for which there was information regarding alcohol intake. During the ensuing years, there were 1,069 incident cases of psoriasis, which were included in the current analysis.

The risk for psoriasis among women who used alcohol remained significant after adjustment for variables including age, body mass index, and physical activity.   In addition, the risk for psoriasis increased with greater alcohol intake.  The excess risk for psoriasis among women who drank five or more nonlight beers per week was 1.53%.

When the investigators repeated the analysis for those women whose diagnosis of psoriasis was confirmed using the detailed Psoriasis Screening Tool, the risk among those who consumed five or more nonlight beers was 2.3 times higher than nondrinkers.    In contrast, there was no significant increase among women who drank other types of alcohol.

The investigators hypothesized that some component in beer -- specifically barley, which contains gluten -- may be responsible for the increased risk, and that more grain is used to manufacture full-strength beer.The link to gluten in beer was supported by the observation that some patients with psoriasis appear to be sensitive to gluten and improve on a gluten-free diet, they noted.

Limitations of the study included reliance on patient recall for a diagnosis of psoriasis, and that the cohort was well-educated and therefore not entirely representative of the entire cohort of women in the Nurses' Health Study.

Source:  MedPage Today

Posted by on August 10, 2009 - 3:03pm

Currently 4% of women enrolled in the Illinois Womens Health Registry suffer from this skin condition that causes itchy or sore red patches of skin with silvery scales.

Psoriasis occurs when the normal life cycle of skin cells is accelerated by the immune system, causing buildup of dead skin cells, which form the thick, silvery scale-like appearance.  There are several types of psoriasis, the most common of which include Plaque Psoriasis, causing the red, scaly lesions; Scalp Psoriasis; Nail Psoriasis, causing abnormal nail growth; and Psoriatic Arthritis, causing stiffness and progressive joint damage.  For many people, psoriasis is just a nuisance, however patients usually seek medical advice if their psoriasis causes discomfort and pain, interferes with daily tasks, or causes concern about the appearance of skin.  There is no cure for psoriasis, but many treatments exist to interrupt the overproduction of skin cells and to provide significant relief.

Resources at Northwestern for Psoriasis:

Northwestern Memorial Hospital’s Department of Dermatology offers state-of-the-art treatment options for dermatology conditions such as psoriasis.  The department also provides cosmetic treatments to patients with various dermatological symptoms.  Treatment options include laser surgery, microdermabrasion, camouflage makeup, skin peels and phototherapy (PUVA).

http://www.nmh.org/nmh/specialtiesandservices/medicalspecialties/dermatology/main.htm

The Department of Dermatology at Northwestern’s Feinberg School of Medicine runs a Psoriasis and Psoriatic Arthritis Clinic on Tuesday mornings.  The clinic is headed by Prashant Singri, MD from dermatology and by Eric Ruderman, MD from Rheumatology.  The clinic is ideal for patients with both psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis.

For more information or to schedule an appointment, contact the clinic at 312-695-8106.

Northwestern Physicians/Researchers Specializing in Psoriasis Treatment:
The Department of Dermatology at Feinberg School of Medicine has active areas of laboratory and clinical outcomes research.  Nearly all of the clinical faculty in the department serve as principle investigators in clinical trials.  Dr. Amy Paller, Chair of the Northwestern Department of Dermatology and Professor of Pediatrics conducts laboratory research related to Psoriasis and other hyper-proliferative skin disorders.  Also conducting research involving psoriasis is Dr. Prashant Singri, head of the Psoriasis clinic.

IWHR Highlighted Researcher
Dr. Anne Laumann, MBChB, MRCP (UK), FAAD is an Associate Professor of Dermatology in the Feinberg School of Medicine.  She is an active member of many dermatology organizations including the American Academy of Dermatology, the Society of Investigative Dermatology, the Scleroderma Foundation, the Vitiligo Foundation, and the Psoriasis Foundation.  Dr. Laumann is the principal investigator on a number of clinical trials related to Raynaud’s phenomenon, psoriasis, and itching. Currently she is conducting clinical trials to evaluate the use of different medications for the treatment of active secondary Raynaud’s disease. She is the local principal investigator in a study studying the outcome and safety of the use of infliximab and golimumab in patients with chronic moderate to severe plaque psoriasis.  This study is a multicenter, prospective, 8-year surveillance study involving patients on biologics.

Useful Links and Resources:
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/psoriasis.html
http://www.psoriasis.org/