Psoriasis — SCE Dermatology MCQ

Correct answer: E — Weight loss of ≥5% body weight is associated with significant improvement in psoriasis severity and improved response to systemic therapy

The best answer is “Weight loss of ≥5% body weight is associated with significant improvement in psoriasis severity and improved response to systemic therapy”. NICE recommends treatment matched to severity, high-impact sites, functional burden, comorbidity and prior response; narrowband UVB is a finite specialist option for plaque or guttate psoriasis that topical therapy cannot control. The alternatives “surgical weight loss affects psoriasis, after clinicopathological correlation, after specialist assessment, when the full phenotype supports it, within an appropriate UK pathway”, “Weight loss has no effect on psoriasis, after specialist assessment, when the full phenotype supports it, within an appropriate UK pathway”, “Weight loss worsens psoriasis, when the full phenotype supports it, within an appropriate UK pathway, after clinicopathological correlation”, “diet affects psoriasis, not exercise, within an appropriate UK pathway, after clinicopathological correlation, after specialist assessment, when the full phenotype supports it” are clinically adjacent possibilities, but they do not fit the defining morphology, distribution, histopathology, risk signal or management sequence in this stem.

Reference: NICE CG153 psoriasis recommendations: https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/cg153/chapter/Recommendations