Associations between body mass index and severity of psoriasis

OBJECTIVE: Compared with healthy people, overweight and obesity are more commonly found among those suffering from skin conditions such as psoriasis. The present study was an attempt to survey the relationship between obesity and intensity of psoriasis. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A total of 42 patients with psoriasis who were referred to Farshchian Hospital, Hamadan, participated in this cross-sectional descriptive–analytical study. Patients were classified into mild, moderate and severe based on the intensity of the disease measured by Psoriasis Area and Severity Index (PASI). Body mass index (BMI), waist size, age, gender, smoking and drinking habits of the participants were measured and compared. RESULTS: A total of 15 (35.07%) patients had mild psoriasis, 9 (21.4%) patients had moderate psoriasis and 18 (42.9%) patients suffered from severe psoriasis. Mean BMI of mild psoriasis patients was 25.86±5.93 kg/m(2), and this figure for the moderate and severe psoriasis patients was 30.85±3.77 kg/m(2) and 26.96±5.68 kg/m(2), respectively (P=0.096). Mean waist size of the mild psoriasis patients was 91.54±11.49 cm, and for moderate and severe patients, it was 99±8.39 cm and 92.17±10.73 cm, respectively (P=0.211). CONCLUSION: The results of this study showed no significant difference between mean value of body mass index, waist size, age and gender in mild, moderate and severe groups of the psoriasis patients.