Effect of written emotional disclosure interventions in persons with psoriasis undergoing narrow band ultraviolet B phototherapy

The beneficial health effects of emotional writing disclosure (ED) on several chronic diseases have been reported. The aim of this pilot study was to investigate the effects of two ED techniques on psoriatic patients treated with ultraviolet B (UVB) therapy. Forty patients were randomly assigned to two different ED treatments (according to Pennebaker [PW], writing about stressful events, to King [KW], writing about major life goals), or to a control group (CG). Disease severity and quality of life (QoL) were assessed at baseline, halfway through and at the end of UVB treatment, and 4 months after ED. Outcome measures were the PASI and SAPASI scores, the Skindex-29, and the GHQ-12, to assess disease severity, health-related QoL and psychological wellbeing, respectively. Increases in SAPASI scores were recorded between end of therapy and the final assessment in KW (p: 0.07) and CG individuals (p: < 0.05), whereas no differences were found in PW patients. Significant differences in Skindex-29 values between PW and the other groups were reported. Patients allocated to the PW group had a longer period of remission after phototherapy. This provides preliminary evidence that such a simple and inexpensive tool may play a role in enhancing treatment efficacy and QoL.