Quality-of-life boost seen in obese patients who lost significant amounts of weight
THURSDAY, Jan. 5, 2017 (HealthDay News) — Obese patients with psoriasis who lose 10 to 15 percent of their weight may see significant and lasting improvement in their symptoms, according to a report published recently in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
The new study is a continuation of a trial in which obese psoriasis patients were randomly assigned to a weight-loss diet. Fifty-six patients participated in a 64-week weight-loss program. The researchers followed the patients for an additional 48 weeks of a weight-maintenance diet. Patients were evaluated using the Psoriasis Area and Severity Index and the Dermatology Life Quality Index.
The average weight at the start of the study was about 235 pounds. Among the 32 patients who completed the study, the average weight loss during the first 16 weeks was 33 pounds. Scores on both symptom tests improved, the findings showed. After 46 weeks, the average weight loss was about 22 pounds. The improvement in test scores remained.
“Doctors should tell their patients with psoriasis about the association between obesity and psoriasis and, in obese patients, advise weight loss,” study author Lone Skov, M.D., of Gentofte Hospital at the University of Copenhagen in Denmark, told HealthDay.
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