Lifestyle Factors are Associated With Psoriasis Risk

Lifestyle factors have a higher predictive risk of incident psoriasis than genetic risk, according to a recent study published in the Journal of American Academy of Dermatology.

Researchers aimed to examine the gene-behavior interaction in association with incident psoriasis in a prospective cohort study among 500 000 UK Biobank participants of European ancestry. The patients were divided into genetic low-, intermediate-, and high-risk cohorts. Lifestyle scores took body mass index, smoking, physical activity, and diet into consideration, and categorized the patients into ideal, intermediate, and poor groups. Psoriasis incidence associated with each lifestyle level was compared with genetic risk groups.

Poor lifestyle and high genetic risk were associated with a higher risk of psoriasis compared with low genetic risk and ideal lifestyle. However, genetic risk and lifestyle were not associated.

“Lifestyle factors are predictive of risk of incident psoriasis independent of genetic risk, and the relative impact of lifestyle factors was greater than genetic risk,” concluded the study authors.

Reference
Shen M, Xiao Y, Jing D, et al. Associations of combined lifestyle and genetic risks with incident psoriasis: a prospective cohort study among UK Biobank participants of European ancestry. J Am Acad Dermatol. Published online: April 12, 2022. doi:10.1016/j.jaad.2022.04.006