Dietary habits, nutritional supplement use, and adherence to national dietary guidelines in patients with psoriasis - Research report

Sep 30, 2026

Uploaded by Kyle

Study evaluating dietary habits and nutritional supplement use in 466 psoriasis patients from the BIOSKIN cohort, compared with 1,029 matched healthy controls, using a Food Frequency Questionnaire. About 53% reported a “healthy and varied diet,” 39% reported “no specific diet,” and roughly 10% practiced intermittent fasting. Overall, 90% showed high or intermediate adherence to dietary guidelines. Mild psoriasis patients adhered more frequently than moderate-to-severe cases, while adherence did not differ between all patients and controls (cross-sectional design limits causal inference).

LanguageEnglish

CategoryHealthcare

FormatPDF

Pages10

Reading Time25 min

AccessFree to download

Background

Dietary patterns and cardiometabolic risk in psoriasis

Objective and Hypotheses

Comparing adherence between psoriasis patients and matched controls

Methods

Study population (BIOSKIN cohort)

Data collection and questionnaires

[www. nature.com/scientificreports](www. nature.com/scientificreports) OPEN Dietary habits, nutritional supplement use, and adherence to national dietary guidelines inpatients with psoriasis Helene Meyer Martin1,6􀀍, Charlotte Näslund-Koch1,6, Marianne Bengtson Løvendorf1,2, Stig Egil Bojesen3,4,5, Camilla J. Kobylecki3,4, SigneVedel-Krogh3,4 & Lone Skov1,5 Psoriasis is a chronic inflammatory disease with a well-established association with obesity. However, the role of diet remains unclear. This study examined dietary habits in patients with psoriasis and compared adherence to national dietary guidelines with matched healthy controls. We included 466 patients with psoriasis from the BIOSKIN cohort and 1,029 healthy controls from the Copenhagen General Population Study. According to a Food Frequency Questionnaire, 53% of the patients reported a “healthy and varied diet,” and 39% “no specific diet”. Approximately 10% practiced intermittent fasting, while smaller proportions followed a Mediterranean diet (4%), a ketogenic/low-carb, high-fat diet (3%), or an anti-inflammatory diet (2%). Overall, 90% showed high or intermediate adherence to dietary guidelines. Patients with mild psoriasis adhered more often to guidelines than those with moderate-to-severe disease (33% vs. 17%, p = 0.001). No significant difference in dietary adherence was observed between patients with psoriasis and matched healthy controls (p = 0.79) . In conclusion, patients with moderate-to-severe psoriasis have less healthy dietary patterns compared to those with mild disease. When comparing all patients with psoriasis to healthy controls, no difference in adherence to dietary guidelines was found. Due to the cross-sectional nature of this study, the causal relationship between diet and psoriasis remains unclear. Keywords Psoriatic disease, Chronic inflammatory skin disease, Nutrition, Diet, Food, Lifestyle Psoriasis is an inflammatory skin disease associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular and metabolic comorbidities1. Obesity is a causal risk factor for developing psoriasis2,3 and randomised controlled trials (RCTs) have shown that weight loss improves the severity of psoriasis4. However, as diet is closely linked to body weight, it remains unknown whether the diet itself affects psoriasis, or whether it is merely body weight that matters. A healthy diet has been shown to be of great importance in preventing and managing cardiometabolic diseases5. An umbrella review of meta-analyses of observational studies and RCTs, with data from more than 12,800,000 participants, found that adherence to the Mediterranean diet was associated with a reduced risk of overall mortality, cardiovascular diseases, and diabetes6. Similarly, RCTs (n = 4291) have shown that lowcarbohydrate ketogenic diets effectively reduce cardiovascular risk factors including glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c), total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, and triglycerides in patients with type 2 diabetes7. Although the relationship between diet and psoriasis is less well studied8, and evidence to suggest optimal diet is lacking, many patients with psoriasis request dietary counselling as part of their treatment9. According to a survey answered by 1,206 patients from the National Psoriasis Foundation in the U.S., 80% had tried to modify their diet due to their psoriasis. In another web-based survey of 448 patients with psoriasis, 85% reported being either “motivated” or “potentially motivated” to make lifestyle changes, particularly in relation to diet and physical activity10. Nevertheless, only a minority of patients receive nutritional advice11. It is imperative 1Department of Dermatology and Allergy, Copenhagen University Hospital – Herlev and Gentofte, Hellerup, Denmark. 2The Leo Foundation Skin Immunology Research Center Department of Immunology and Microbiology, Faculty of Health and Medical Science, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark. 3Department

FAQs

How many participants were included, and how were psoriasis patients compared with controls?

The study included 466 psoriasis patients from the BIOSKIN cohort and 1,029 healthy controls from the Copenhagen General Population Study, compared using dietary data from a Food Frequency Questionnaire.

What dietary patterns did psoriasis patients report most often?

About 53% reported a “healthy and varied diet” and 39% reported “no specific diet.” Approximately 10% reported intermittent fasting, while Mediterranean, ketogenic/low-carb high-fat, and anti-inflammatory diets were less common.

Did adherence to national dietary guidelines differ between psoriasis patients and healthy controls?

Overall, 90% showed high or intermediate adherence, and there was no significant difference in adherence between psoriasis patients and matched healthy controls. The study also reported higher adherence in mild versus moderate-to-severe psoriasis.

Sep 30, 2026

Uploaded by Kyle