Vigorous Exercise Might Protect Against Psoriasis

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Women who engage in vigorous activities like running or aerobic exercise may have reduced risk of psoriasis


May 23, 2012 -- Here's yet another reason to exercise: A new study suggests that vigorous physical activity could reduce the risk of psoriasis.
The findings come out of the long-running Nurses' Health Study, which includes only women, but previous research suggests that exercise may also protect men against the chronic skin condition, characterized mostly by inflamed, scaly patches.
As many as 7.5 million Americans have psoriasis, according to the National Psoriasis Foundation, which says it's the most common autoimmune disease. Men and women are equally affected. Previous research has linked higher body mass index, or BMI, family history of psoriasis, alcohol use, and smoking to the risk of psoriasis.
In the new study, scientists followed nearly 87,000 female nurses for 14 years. None of them had been diagnosed with psoriasis at the beginning of the study. Over the course of the study, the nurses completed three detailed questionnaires about physical activity and were asked to report whether they were ever diagnosed with psoriasis. A total of 1,026 women said they were diagnosed during the study period and provided survey information about their physical activity.

Compared with no vigorous physical activity, vigorous exercise -- the equivalent of 105 minutes of running at a 6-mile-per-hour pace every week -- was associated with a 25% to 30% lower risk of psoriasis. The association remained significant after accounting for BMI, age, smoking, and alcohol use. The researchers say theirs is the first study to investigate the independent association between physical activity and psoriasis.
"The intensity of the exercise is the key," says researcher Abrar Qureshi, MD, MPH, vice chair of dermatology at Brigham and Women's Hospital and assistant professor at Harvard Medical School.
Only running and performing aerobic exercise or calisthenics were associated with a reduced risk of psoriasis. Other vigorous activities, such as jogging, playing tennis, swimming, and bicycling, were not. The researchers speculate that the highly variable intensity of the latter group of activities might account for the lack of an association with a lower psoriasis risk.
More than a decade ago, Siba Raychaudhuri, MD, reported that male and female psoriasis patients who exercised were likely to have less severe disease. "Walking was protective also," says Raychaudhuri, a rheumatologist at the University of California, Davis. He says he was "a little bit surprised" that Qureshi did not find that to be the case but added that "this study is more elegant than ours" because it collected more detailed information about exercise intensity.
Qureshi's team speculates that the lower risk of psoriasis in women who exercised vigorously might be due to a reduction in system-wide inflammation. Vigorous exercise also might be protective against psoriasis because it decreases anxiety and stress, which are tied to new cases and exacerbations of the disease, the researchers say.
"A good amount of data show that emotional stress reduction is good for psoriasis reduction," Raychaudhuri says.
Exposure to ultraviolet light is a psoriasis treatment, so time spent outdoors exercising, and not the exercise itself, might have explained the lowered risk of the disease, Qureshi says. But his study found that women who ran for only an hour a week had a significantly reduced risk of developing psoriasis than women who spent at least four hours walking outside at an average pace.
Chris Ritchlin, MD, MPH, a University of Rochester rheumatologist, calls Qureshi's findings "very interesting." Still, Ritchlin says, while exercise is known to be associated with reduced inflammation, "is there something about people who are really athletically inclined that we're not thinking about that would prevent them from getting psoriasis?"
Qureshi says that could be the case, which is why his study needs to be replicated. "You have to interpret the results cautiously because it is a single study," he says. "It is certainly possible that the women who exercise more are just more health-conscious. There could be other factors that could protect them from developing psoriasis."
Qureshi's study appears online in the Archives of Dermatology.
SOURCES: Qureshi, A. Archives of Dermatology, published online May 2012.Abrar Qureshi, MD, MPH, vice chair of dermatology at Brigham and Women's Hospital; assistant professor at Harvard Medical School, Boston.Siba Raychaudhuri, MD, University of California, Davis.Chris Ritchlin, MD, MPH, University of Rochester, New York.

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Vigorous Exercise Might Protect Against Psoriasis

Click Here!
Women who engage in vigorous activities like running or aerobic exercise may have reduced risk of psoriasis


May 23, 2012 -- Here's yet another reason to exercise: A new study suggests that vigorous physical activity could reduce the risk of psoriasis.
The findings come out of the long-running Nurses' Health Study, which includes only women, but previous research suggests that exercise may also protect men against the chronic skin condition, characterized mostly by inflamed, scaly patches.
As many as 7.5 million Americans have psoriasis, according to the National Psoriasis Foundation, which says it's the most common autoimmune disease. Men and women are equally affected. Previous research has linked higher body mass index, or BMI, family history of psoriasis, alcohol use, and smoking to the risk of psoriasis.
In the new study, scientists followed nearly 87,000 female nurses for 14 years. None of them had been diagnosed with psoriasis at the beginning of the study. Over the course of the study, the nurses completed three detailed questionnaires about physical activity and were asked to report whether they were ever diagnosed with psoriasis. A total of 1,026 women said they were diagnosed during the study period and provided survey information about their physical activity.

Compared with no vigorous physical activity, vigorous exercise -- the equivalent of 105 minutes of running at a 6-mile-per-hour pace every week -- was associated with a 25% to 30% lower risk of psoriasis. The association remained significant after accounting for BMI, age, smoking, and alcohol use. The researchers say theirs is the first study to investigate the independent association between physical activity and psoriasis.
"The intensity of the exercise is the key," says researcher Abrar Qureshi, MD, MPH, vice chair of dermatology at Brigham and Women's Hospital and assistant professor at Harvard Medical School.
Only running and performing aerobic exercise or calisthenics were associated with a reduced risk of psoriasis. Other vigorous activities, such as jogging, playing tennis, swimming, and bicycling, were not. The researchers speculate that the highly variable intensity of the latter group of activities might account for the lack of an association with a lower psoriasis risk.
More than a decade ago, Siba Raychaudhuri, MD, reported that male and female psoriasis patients who exercised were likely to have less severe disease. "Walking was protective also," says Raychaudhuri, a rheumatologist at the University of California, Davis. He says he was "a little bit surprised" that Qureshi did not find that to be the case but added that "this study is more elegant than ours" because it collected more detailed information about exercise intensity.
Qureshi's team speculates that the lower risk of psoriasis in women who exercised vigorously might be due to a reduction in system-wide inflammation. Vigorous exercise also might be protective against psoriasis because it decreases anxiety and stress, which are tied to new cases and exacerbations of the disease, the researchers say.
"A good amount of data show that emotional stress reduction is good for psoriasis reduction," Raychaudhuri says.
Exposure to ultraviolet light is a psoriasis treatment, so time spent outdoors exercising, and not the exercise itself, might have explained the lowered risk of the disease, Qureshi says. But his study found that women who ran for only an hour a week had a significantly reduced risk of developing psoriasis than women who spent at least four hours walking outside at an average pace.
Chris Ritchlin, MD, MPH, a University of Rochester rheumatologist, calls Qureshi's findings "very interesting." Still, Ritchlin says, while exercise is known to be associated with reduced inflammation, "is there something about people who are really athletically inclined that we're not thinking about that would prevent them from getting psoriasis?"
Qureshi says that could be the case, which is why his study needs to be replicated. "You have to interpret the results cautiously because it is a single study," he says. "It is certainly possible that the women who exercise more are just more health-conscious. There could be other factors that could protect them from developing psoriasis."
Qureshi's study appears online in the Archives of Dermatology.
SOURCES: Qureshi, A. Archives of Dermatology, published online May 2012.Abrar Qureshi, MD, MPH, vice chair of dermatology at Brigham and Women's Hospital; assistant professor at Harvard Medical School, Boston.Siba Raychaudhuri, MD, University of California, Davis.Chris Ritchlin, MD, MPH, University of Rochester, New York.

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Vigorous Exercise Might Protect Against Psoriasis

Click Here!
Women who engage in vigorous activities like running or aerobic exercise may have reduced risk of psoriasis


May 23, 2012 -- Here's yet another reason to exercise: A new study suggests that vigorous physical activity could reduce the risk of psoriasis.
The findings come out of the long-running Nurses' Health Study, which includes only women, but previous research suggests that exercise may also protect men against the chronic skin condition, characterized mostly by inflamed, scaly patches.
As many as 7.5 million Americans have psoriasis, according to the National Psoriasis Foundation, which says it's the most common autoimmune disease. Men and women are equally affected. Previous research has linked higher body mass index, or BMI, family history of psoriasis, alcohol use, and smoking to the risk of psoriasis.
In the new study, scientists followed nearly 87,000 female nurses for 14 years. None of them had been diagnosed with psoriasis at the beginning of the study. Over the course of the study, the nurses completed three detailed questionnaires about physical activity and were asked to report whether they were ever diagnosed with psoriasis. A total of 1,026 women said they were diagnosed during the study period and provided survey information about their physical activity.

Compared with no vigorous physical activity, vigorous exercise -- the equivalent of 105 minutes of running at a 6-mile-per-hour pace every week -- was associated with a 25% to 30% lower risk of psoriasis. The association remained significant after accounting for BMI, age, smoking, and alcohol use. The researchers say theirs is the first study to investigate the independent association between physical activity and psoriasis.
"The intensity of the exercise is the key," says researcher Abrar Qureshi, MD, MPH, vice chair of dermatology at Brigham and Women's Hospital and assistant professor at Harvard Medical School.
Only running and performing aerobic exercise or calisthenics were associated with a reduced risk of psoriasis. Other vigorous activities, such as jogging, playing tennis, swimming, and bicycling, were not. The researchers speculate that the highly variable intensity of the latter group of activities might account for the lack of an association with a lower psoriasis risk.
More than a decade ago, Siba Raychaudhuri, MD, reported that male and female psoriasis patients who exercised were likely to have less severe disease. "Walking was protective also," says Raychaudhuri, a rheumatologist at the University of California, Davis. He says he was "a little bit surprised" that Qureshi did not find that to be the case but added that "this study is more elegant than ours" because it collected more detailed information about exercise intensity.
Qureshi's team speculates that the lower risk of psoriasis in women who exercised vigorously might be due to a reduction in system-wide inflammation. Vigorous exercise also might be protective against psoriasis because it decreases anxiety and stress, which are tied to new cases and exacerbations of the disease, the researchers say.
"A good amount of data show that emotional stress reduction is good for psoriasis reduction," Raychaudhuri says.
Exposure to ultraviolet light is a psoriasis treatment, so time spent outdoors exercising, and not the exercise itself, might have explained the lowered risk of the disease, Qureshi says. But his study found that women who ran for only an hour a week had a significantly reduced risk of developing psoriasis than women who spent at least four hours walking outside at an average pace.
Chris Ritchlin, MD, MPH, a University of Rochester rheumatologist, calls Qureshi's findings "very interesting." Still, Ritchlin says, while exercise is known to be associated with reduced inflammation, "is there something about people who are really athletically inclined that we're not thinking about that would prevent them from getting psoriasis?"
Qureshi says that could be the case, which is why his study needs to be replicated. "You have to interpret the results cautiously because it is a single study," he says. "It is certainly possible that the women who exercise more are just more health-conscious. There could be other factors that could protect them from developing psoriasis."
Qureshi's study appears online in the Archives of Dermatology.
SOURCES: Qureshi, A. Archives of Dermatology, published online May 2012.Abrar Qureshi, MD, MPH, vice chair of dermatology at Brigham and Women's Hospital; assistant professor at Harvard Medical School, Boston.Siba Raychaudhuri, MD, University of California, Davis.Chris Ritchlin, MD, MPH, University of Rochester, New York.

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Work-Related Asthma a Significant Problem: CDC

Click Here!THURSDAY, May 24 (HealthDay News) -- About nine percent of all asthma cases in the United States are caused or made worse by work-related exposures, a new federal study says.
That means work-related asthma affects about 1.4 million adults annually, the researchers said.

State-by-state rates of workplace-related asthma ranged from 4.8 percent (Arizona) to just over 14 percent (Florida), according to the study by researchers at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The analysis of 2006-09 data from 38 states and the District of Columbia also suggests that older workers and those in certain ethnic or minority groups are most at risk. For example, rates of employment-related asthma were 12.7 percent for people ages 45-64 vs. about 7 percent for people ages 18-44. Among racial groups rates of work-related asthma were 12.5 percent for blacks, 10.5 percent for Hispanics and 8.2 percent for whites, the report found.
The estimated proportion of adults with current asthma who had work-related asthma was similar for men and women, at about nine percent.
Asthma linked to on-the-job exposures is a preventable but under-recognized illness and the new findings highlight the need to expand workplace surveillance to better understand the risk factors and to better focus prevention efforts, the researchers said.
Better surveillance of the problem "would enhance our understanding of work-related asthma epidemiology and enable states, other government agencies, health professionals, employers, workers and worker representatives to better target intervention efforts to reduce the burden of work-related asthma," the researchers wrote in a summary.
The study appears in the May 25 issue of the CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

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Work-Related Asthma a Significant Problem: CDC

Click Here!THURSDAY, May 24 (HealthDay News) -- About nine percent of all asthma cases in the United States are caused or made worse by work-related exposures, a new federal study says.
That means work-related asthma affects about 1.4 million adults annually, the researchers said.

State-by-state rates of workplace-related asthma ranged from 4.8 percent (Arizona) to just over 14 percent (Florida), according to the study by researchers at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The analysis of 2006-09 data from 38 states and the District of Columbia also suggests that older workers and those in certain ethnic or minority groups are most at risk. For example, rates of employment-related asthma were 12.7 percent for people ages 45-64 vs. about 7 percent for people ages 18-44. Among racial groups rates of work-related asthma were 12.5 percent for blacks, 10.5 percent for Hispanics and 8.2 percent for whites, the report found.
The estimated proportion of adults with current asthma who had work-related asthma was similar for men and women, at about nine percent.
Asthma linked to on-the-job exposures is a preventable but under-recognized illness and the new findings highlight the need to expand workplace surveillance to better understand the risk factors and to better focus prevention efforts, the researchers said.
Better surveillance of the problem "would enhance our understanding of work-related asthma epidemiology and enable states, other government agencies, health professionals, employers, workers and worker representatives to better target intervention efforts to reduce the burden of work-related asthma," the researchers wrote in a summary.
The study appears in the May 25 issue of the CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

Read More

Work-Related Asthma a Significant Problem: CDC

Click Here!THURSDAY, May 24 (HealthDay News) -- About nine percent of all asthma cases in the United States are caused or made worse by work-related exposures, a new federal study says.
That means work-related asthma affects about 1.4 million adults annually, the researchers said.

State-by-state rates of workplace-related asthma ranged from 4.8 percent (Arizona) to just over 14 percent (Florida), according to the study by researchers at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The analysis of 2006-09 data from 38 states and the District of Columbia also suggests that older workers and those in certain ethnic or minority groups are most at risk. For example, rates of employment-related asthma were 12.7 percent for people ages 45-64 vs. about 7 percent for people ages 18-44. Among racial groups rates of work-related asthma were 12.5 percent for blacks, 10.5 percent for Hispanics and 8.2 percent for whites, the report found.
The estimated proportion of adults with current asthma who had work-related asthma was similar for men and women, at about nine percent.
Asthma linked to on-the-job exposures is a preventable but under-recognized illness and the new findings highlight the need to expand workplace surveillance to better understand the risk factors and to better focus prevention efforts, the researchers said.
Better surveillance of the problem "would enhance our understanding of work-related asthma epidemiology and enable states, other government agencies, health professionals, employers, workers and worker representatives to better target intervention efforts to reduce the burden of work-related asthma," the researchers wrote in a summary.
The study appears in the May 25 issue of the CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

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Yoga May Improve Symptoms of Rheumatoid Arthritis

People With Rheumatoid Arthritis Feel Better After 6 Weeks of Iyengar-Style Yoga

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WebMD Health News
Reviewed by Laura J. Martin, MD
May 24, 2012 (Honolulu, Hawaii) -- Young patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) may feel better after practicing yoga for just six weeks, a new study shows.
Researchers reported their findings here last week at the American Pain Society's annual meeting.
"It seems to be a very feasible, practical treatment for patients with rheumatoid arthritis," one of the researchers, Kirsten Lung, tells WebMD. Lung researches pain at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).
The results are not surprising to Kathleen Sluka, PhD, a physical therapist who researches pain at the University of Iowa. All kinds of physical activity can help with rheumatoid arthritis, she tells WebMD. Sluka was not involved in this study.
RA is a chronic type of arthritis. It is an autoimmune disease. It is most common among women. Early symptoms include fatigue, joint pain, and stiffness.
As it progresses, RA may feel like the flu, with muscle aches and loss of appetite. Early and effective treatment may help prevent joint and bone destruction.
The UCLA researchers say some drugs for RA can pose additional risks for younger patients. So the researchers are looking for alternatives. They decided to try Iyengar yoga.
In Iyengar yoga, practitioners may use blocks, straps, cushions, and other props to stretch and strengthen their muscles.
The UCLA researchers recruited 26 women with RA. The women's ages ranged from 21 to 35. On average they had suffered from RA for 10 and a half years.
The researchers then assigned 11 of these women to classes in Iyengar yoga. They assigned the other 15 to a wait list for yoga classes.
After six weeks, they asked both groups about their condition. The group that practiced yoga said they were happier than when they started. They said they could better accept their pain. They also reported better general health and more energy.
The women on the wait list for yoga classes did not experience these improvements.
Even the women who did yoga did not report less pain or disability. That may be because the study was so short, says Lung. "But six weeks did a world of good for those involved."
Sluka says that physical exercise usually takes about eight weeks to show significant effects. All kinds of exercise can help with RA, she says. "Yoga is just another form of exercise," she says.
By strengthening muscles, exercise prevents joints from moving in uncomfortable ways. And it can activate parts of the nervous system that reduce pain.
The study is not conclusive, she points out, because it is very small. Also, there is a possibility that the people in the yoga group felt better just because they were doing something to help themselves, not specifically because they were doing yoga.
But the study is still worthwhile, Sluka says. It shows people with RA they have another option for getting exercise. "Some people like to run. Some people like to lift weights. Some people like to do yoga," she says.
These findings were presented at a medical conference. They should be considered preliminary, as they have not yet undergone the "peer review" process, in which outside experts scrutinize the data prior to publication in a medical journal.
SOURCES: 31st Annual Scientific Meeting of the American Pain Society, Honolulu, Hawaii, May 16-19, 2012.Kirsten Lung, research associate, University of California, Los Angeles Pediatric Pain Program.Kathleen Sluka, professor of physical therapy & rehabilitation science, University of Iowa.

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