Psoriasis contributes to obesity, metabolic syndrome: Research

Taiwan, December 16: Psoriasis, a painful and disfiguring skin disorder, puts the afflicted at a higher risk of obesity as they hold higher levels of leptin, an obesity-related hormone, than those without psoriasis, a Taiwanese research unfolds.

Psoriasis, a non-contagious chronic skin disorder that affects the skin and joints, is typically characterized by the appearance of red scaly patches. These patches are areas of inflammation and excessive skin production, triggered by the overproduction of skin cells.

One of the most important adipose derived hormonesdefine, leptin plays an active role in regulating energy intake and expenditure. It also regulates metabolism and immune-inflammatory processes.

158 individuals, 77 with psoriasis and 81 without, of similar age and sex, were included in the study embarked at the Taichung General Hospital and National Chung Hsing University in Taiwan.

Serum samples of those with psoriasis were compared with the ones obtained from the volunteers without psoriasis.

Results revealed that those with psoriasis were twice as likely to be obese. They held higher levels of leptin in blood than those without psoriasis, researchers found.

Conversely, with a reduction in the body weight the leptin levels also plunged, thus lowering the risk of developing metabolic syndrome and cardiovascular troubles.

"The high circulating leptin levels in individuals with psoriasis may derive not only from fat tissue but also from inflammation," lead researcher Yi-Ju Chen of Taichung Veterans General Hospital and National Chung Hsing University in Taiwan marked.

Although psoriasis is not life-threatening, its susceptibility to obesity, hypertension, cardiovascular troubles, diabetes and metabolic syndrome could, however, prove fatal.

Implicating the findings, researchers stated, "Body weight loss could potentially become part of the general treatment of psoriasis, especially in patients with obesity."

The results of the study feature in the current issue of the journal Archives of Dermatology.