The impact of ramadan fasting on the reduction of PASI score, in moderate-to-severe psoriatic patients: A real-life multicenter study

Giovanni Damiani, Abdulla Watad, Charlie Bridgewood, Paolo Daniele Maria Pigatto, Alessia Pacifico, Piergiorgio Malagoli, Nicola Luigi Bragazzi, Mohammad Adawi

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68 Scopus citations

Abstract

Fasting during the month of Ramadan consists of alternate abstinence and re-feeding periods (circadian or intermittent fasting). Nothing is currently known on the impact of this kind of fasting on psoriasis. A sample of 108 moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis patients (aged 42.84 ± 13.61 years, 62 males, 46 females) volunteered to take part in the study. A significant decrease in the “Psoriasis Area and Severity Index” (PASI) score after the Ramadan fasting (mean difference = −0.89 ± 1.21, p < 0.0001) was found. At the multivariate regression, the use of cyclosporine (p = 0.0003), interleukin-17 or IL-17 blockers (p < 0.0001), and tumor necrosis factor or TNF blockers (p = 0.0107) was independently associated with a low PASI score, while the use of apremilast (p = 0.0009), and phototherapy (p = 0.0015) was associated with a high PASI score before the Ramadan fasting. Similarly, the consumption of cyclosporine (p < 0.0001), IL-17 blockers (p < 0.0001), mammalian target of rapamycin or mTOR inhibitors (p = 0.0081), and TNF blockers (p = 0.0017) predicted a low PASI score after the Ramadan fasting. By contrast, narrow band ultraviolet light B or NB-UVB (p = 0.0015) was associated with a high PASI score after Ramadan fasting. Disease duration (p = 0.0078), use of apremilast (p = 0.0005), and of mTOR inhibitors (p = 0.0034) were independent predictors of the reduction in the PASI score after the Ramadan fasting. These findings reflect the influence of dieting strategy, the biological clock, and circadian rhythm on the treatment of plaque psoriasis.

Original languageEnglish
Article number277
JournalNutrients
Volume11
Issue number2
DOIs
StatePublished - 27 Jan 2019

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2019 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.

Keywords

  • Biological clock
  • Circadian rhythm
  • Moderate-to-severe psoriatic patients
  • PASI score
  • Plaque psoriasis
  • Ramadan intermittent fasting
  • Systemic treatment
  • Topical treatment

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