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Psoriasis Diet — SCE Dermatology MCQ

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ModerateInflammatory DermatosesPsoriasis DietSCE Dermatology

A 45-year-old woman with chronic plaque psoriasis asks about the evidence for dietary intervention. What does current evidence support?

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Correct answer: EMediterranean diet, weight loss, and gluten-free diet (in coeliac-positive patients) may improve psoriasis; no single dietary intervention is universally recommended

Current evidence supports several dietary approaches as adjunctive to standard psoriasis treatment: (1) Weight loss (≥5% body weight) improves PASI scores independently; (2) Mediterranean diet (rich in omega-3 fatty acids, fruits, vegetables, olive oil) is associated with reduced psoriasis severity; (3) Gluten-free diet may benefit the subset with positive anti-gliadin antibodies or coeliac disease (~5-10% of psoriasis patients); (4) Omega-3 fish oil supplementation has modest anti-inflammatory effects. However, no single dietary intervention replaces medical treatment. BAD guidelines recommend lifestyle counselling as part of holistic management but acknowledge that dietary evidence is relatively low quality.

Reference: BAD 2020 Psoriasis Comorbidities; BJD