DIETARY-INTAKE IN RELATION TO CLINICAL STATUS IN PATIENTS WITH PSORIASIS

The aim of the present study was to examine whether the composition of the diet among patients with psoriasis differed from a regular Norweg ian diet and to relate nutrient intake to the clinical status of the p atients' disease. Patients were recruited from all five university Dep artments of Dermatology in Norway. The participants filled in a quanti tative food-frequency questionnaire before attending a clinical trial. Dietary data were available from ninety-three men and forty-three wom en, aged 17-73 years, with stable plaque psoriasis involving more than 8 % of the body surface. The dietary intake of the patients was compa red with the diet of a reference group randomly selected from the Norw egian population, and related to a dermatological score of the psoriat ics. The patients' intakes of energy and nutrients were fairly similar to those found in the reference group, except for a lower content of carbohydrates and sugar in the diet of female patients. None of the nu trients gave statistically significant contributions to explain the cl inical score values when analysed by correlations.