ALCOHOL INTAKE AND TREATMENT RESPONSIVENESS OF PSORIASIS - A PROSPECTIVE-STUDY

Background: Alcohol has been reported to be a risk factor in psoriasis mainly based on the observation that there is a higher prevalence of alcohol abuse in persons with psoriasis, especially in men. Objective. We prospectively examined the relation between pretreatment average d aily ethanol consumption and treatment outcome in inpatients with mode rate to severe psoriasis. Methods. The severity of psoriasis of 94 inp atients (48 men and 46 women) was assessed before and after treatment. Ethanol use was determined by obtaining the patients' reports of thei r average daily consumption of alcoholic beverages during the 6 months before admissions. Results: The average daily ethanol intake of more than 80 gm before treatment was more frequently associated with less t reatment-induced improvement (less than 10%) (p = 0.02) in the percent age of the total body surface area affected by psoriasis in men but no t in women. Conclusion: Ethanol abuse may have an adverse effect on tr eatment outcome in men with psoriasis.