Large study shows link between vitamin D and psoriasis severity

Medical Xpress / American Society for Nutrition / NUTRITION 2023 ^ | July 25, 2023 | Eunyoung Cho, ScD et al

[ConservativeMind]

More than eight million people in the U.S. experience psoriasis, a condition in which skin cells build up and form itchy dry patches. A person's vitamin D levels could play an important role in psoriasis severity, according to one of the largest studies to date.

The analysis, which included almost 500 psoriasis cases from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), showed a linear relationship between increasing psoriasis severity and decreasing vitamin D levels measured through blood tests.

"Topical synthetic vitamin D creams are emerging as new therapies for psoriasis, but these usually require a doctor's prescription," said Rachel K. Lim. "Our results suggest that a vitamin D-rich diet or oral vitamin D supplementation may also provide some benefit to psoriasis patients."

Vitamin D is thought to influence the development of skin diseases by affecting the body's immune response and through direct effects on the cells involved in skin repair.

"With growing public interest in vitamin supplementation, we wanted to further examine the connection between vitamin D levels and psoriasis severity," said Cho.

For the new study, the researchers identified 491 psoriasis cases from more than 40,000 NHANES participants, with 162 cases from 2003–2006 and 329 from 2011–2014. They also extracted data on vitamin D levels, self-reported psoriasis-affected body surface area and other factors including age, gender, race, body mass index, and smoking status.

After adjusting for lifestyle factors such as smoking, the analysis showed that lower vitamin D levels and vitamin D deficiency were significantly associated with greater psoriasis severity. The researchers also found that patients with the least amount of body surface affected by psoriasis had the highest average vitamin D levels while those with the greatest affected area had the lowest average levels of vitamin D.

[RummyChick]

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[e_castillo]

Interesting thx.

[gleeaikin]

Sunshine is fine for getting free Vitamin D as it is formed in oil on the skin and then absorbed into the body over several hours. However there can be problems. My son, living and working in Puerto Rico with his construction business was discovered to be D deficient. He was taking a shower every day after work. I suggested he take his shower in the morning and then rub an oil containing cream on his arms, face and other exposed area of his body. Then when coming home, if possible wait a few hours if possible and only take a quick water ONLY shower to get rid of sweat but not body oils. Blot with towel or air dry so as not to remove oils with Vitamin D in them. Give the D time to absorb.

Years ago I read something about psoriasis in one of Adele Davis’s, perhaps in Let’s Eat Right to Keep Fit, or Let’s Get Well. Her paperbacks can still be found on Ebay or elsewhere on line. At any rate, if I remember rightly, there was something about oily foods like Mayonaise or salad dressings, and deficiencies caused by not consuming them. I suppose olive oil would be good, but try to get her books, they are life savers!