Skin Health: The Impact of Vitamin D on Psoriasis Severity – Here’s What You Need to Know

Does Vitamin D deficiency worsen psoriasis symptoms? How does Vitamin D affect psoriasis severity? New research offers a deeper look into all above question and reveals the power of Vitamin D in treating psoriasis.

Psoriasis, characterized by skin cells forming itchy, dry patches, affects over eight million individuals in the U.S. New evidence suggests Vitamin D levels may be a key factor in the intensity of this condition, as highlighted by one of the most extensive studies on the subject.

The study examined nearly 500 psoriasis cases, derived from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), demonstrating a consistent correlation between heightened psoriasis intensity and decreased levels of Vitamin D, as determined by blood tests.

“Topical synthetic vitamin D creams are emerging as new therapies for psoriasis, but these usually require a doctor’s prescription,” shares Rachel K. Lim, an MD candidate at the Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University. “Our results suggest that a vitamin D-rich diet or oral vitamin D supplementation may also provide some benefit to psoriasis patients.”

What is the link between Vitamin D and psoriasis?

Eunyoung Cho, ScD, an associate professor in the Department of Dermatology at the Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University and head of the research team, investigates the impact of nutrition and environmental factors on skin cancer and inflammatory skin conditions such as psoriasis.

It’s believed that Vitamin D plays a role in the progression of skin diseases by modulating the immune response and directly impacting skin repair cells.

“With growing public interest in vitamin supplementation, we wanted to further examine the connection between vitamin D levels and psoriasis severity,” adds Cho. “Few studies have looked for this association in groups of people, especially in large U.S. populations, or examined this relationship through a clinical nutrition lens.”

In this recent study, the team identified 491 psoriasis cases out of over 40,000 NHANES participants, comprising 162 cases from 2003-2006 and 329 from 2011-2014. The data on Vitamin D levels, self-reported body surface area affected by psoriasis, and other factors like age, gender, race, body mass index, and smoking status were also examined.

Role of Vitamin D in skin diseases

After controlling for lifestyle factors, including smoking, the analysis revealed a significant association between lower Vitamin D levels or Vitamin D deficiency and increased psoriasis severity.

It was also discovered that patients with the least psoriasis-affected body surface had the highest average Vitamin D levels, while those with the most affected area had the lowest average Vitamin D levels.

“Only one previous study, published in 2013, has used NHANES data to analyze the relationship between vitamin D and psoriasis,” notes Lim. “We were able to add more recent data, which more than tripled the number of psoriasis cases analyzed, making our results more up-to-date and statistically powerful than previously available data.”

So should you increase Vitamin D levels for managing psoriasis?

While instances of dietary Vitamin D toxicity are rare, they advise those suffering from psoriasis to seek advice from their doctors or dermatologists before starting any supplement regime.

The results will be presented by Lim at NUTRITION 2023, the American Society for Nutrition’s annual premier event, taking place from July 22 to 25 in Boston.

Image Credit: Shutterstock