Psoriasis Patients Who Meditate May Ease Symptoms, Improve QOL

FRIDAY, Oct. 21, 2022 (HealthDay News) -- Meditation may help patients manage psoriasis, according to a review published online Sept. 14 in Dermatology and Therapy.

Erin Bartholomew, from University of California, San Francisco, and colleagues conducted a systematic literature review to assess the role of mindfulness and meditation in treating psoriasis symptoms, severity, and quality of life.

Based on six identified randomized controlled trials with a pooled 356 patients with psoriasis, the researchers found that five demonstrated improvement in the self-administered Psoriasis Area and Severity Index after eight or 12 weeks of guided meditation. Mental health benefits were seen among psoriasis patients following guided meditation in one randomized controlled trial and one nonrandomized trial.

“Overall, these results suggest the possibility that meditation can be used as a tool to improve both psoriasis severity and patient quality of life in the short term,” the authors write.

Two authors disclosed ties to the pharmaceutical industry.

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