Weight loss surgery may improve outcomes for patients with psoriatic arthritis, psoriasis

A majority of patients with obesity and psoriatic arthritis or psoriasis who lost weight following bariatric surgery had improved skin and joint outcomes, according to the results of a recently published study.

Researchers studied a database of 9,073 bariatric surgeries at a single center between 2002 and 2013 retrospectively and identified 128 patients with a preoperative diagnosis of psoriatic arthritis (PsA) or psoriasis. Patients were contacted and invited to participate in a study and 74 patients responded and completed a survey.

Patients were asked about their history of PsA or psoriasis and changes in symptoms following surgery. The mean time from surgery was 6.2 years and a mean excess weight loss of 46.5% was observed.

Improvements in psoriasis were reported by 55% of patients, 24.3% reported an initial improvement followed by relapse, 6.8% had no change and 12.6% reported a worsening of symptoms. Of 16 patients with PsA, 62.5% reported improvements in symptoms while 19% reported no change and 19% reported worsening symptoms.

Greater weight loss was demonstrated in patients who reported severe preoperative symptoms followed by significant improvements after surgery, and a correlation between the improvements for patients with PsA and excess weight loss did not reach significance.

“Based on our results, there is an association between excess weight loss and symptomatic improvement in severe cases of psoriasis,” the researchers wrote. “Factors such as lower preoperative BMI may be used to identify those patients with a greater likelihood of remission.” – by Shirley Pulawski

Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.

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Source:

Sethi M, et al. Surg Obesity Rel Dis. 2015;doi:10.1016/j.soard.2015.08.074.