Alcohol intake and treatment responsiveness of psoriasis: A prospective study

Abstract

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. We prospectively examined the relation between pretreatment average daily ethanol consumption and treatment outcome in inpatients with moderate to severe psoriasis. The severity of psoriasis of 94 inpatients (48 men and 46 women) was assessed before and after treatment. Ethanol use was determined by obtaining the patients' reports of their average daily consumption of alcoholic beverages during the 6 months before admission. The average daily ethanol intake of more than 80 gm before treatment was more frequently associated with less treatment-induced improvement (less than 10%) (p = 0.02) in the percentage of the total body surface area affected by psoriasis in men but not in women. Ethanol abuse may have an adverse effect on treatment outcome in men with psoriasis.