Adherence to the Mediterranean diet in patients with psoriasis and its relationship with the severity of the disease: A case-control study

Background and Aim:Psoriasis is a prevalent chronic inflammatory skin condi-tion, and the Mediterranean diet is often recommended for its health benefits,particularly its ability to mitigate chronic inflammation. This study sought toexamine the extent to which psoriasis patients adhere to the Mediterraneandiet and to explore its correlation with the severity of their conditionMethods:Seventy-one psoriasis patients and 71 age-and sex-matched healthycontrols were enrolled the study and filled a standard questionnaire of adherence tothe Mediterranean diet. The relationship between disease severity and adherence tothe diet was also dealt with.Results:The Mediterranean diet adherence score in the psoriasis group(5.25 +/- 1.64) was significantly lower than the control group (6.28 +/- 2.10)(p= 0.004). In addition, the consumption of fruit and fish in psoriasis patientswas significantly lower than the control group and the consumption of red meatwas significantly higher in the patientgroup. No significant relationship wasfound between the severity of the disease and the score of adherence to theMediterranean diet (p=0.42).Conclusion:A significant difference between the two groups of psoriasis and thecontrol group following the Mediterranean diet might be indicative of the relation-ship between diet and psoriasis and the potential benefits of this type of diet due toits anti-inflammatory properties