Forskning

March 22, 2012

No association between coffee and caffeine intake and risk of psoriasis in US women

W Li et al, No association between coffee and caffeine intake and risk of psoriasis in US women, Archives of Dermatology, 2012, Volume 148 (3).

Psoriasis is an immune-mediated disorder, but the involved genetic and environmental factors remain to be elucidated. The positive and negative effects of coffee and caffeine on psoriasis have been reported previously. Among the positive effects, coffee has anti-oxidative properties that may help quell inflammation; topical caffeine has been used for the psoriasis treatment; and coffee intake may improve the efficacy of methotrexate and sulfasalazine for psoriasis treatment. On the other hand, diterpenes present in unfiltered coffee and caffeine may increase serum cholesterol levels and blood pressure; exceptionally high caffeine plasma levels were shown to induce an adverse effect of photochemotherapy on psoriasis; and coffee and caffeine have been implicated as contributing to psoriasis and flaring psoriasis phenotypes, although this last association has not been scientifically proven. It would be of public health significance to elucidate the long-term relationship between coffee and caffeine intake and the risk of psoriasis. Currently, there is a paucity of research on this topic, and the association remains unclear. Herein, we evaluated the association between consumption of coffee, decaffeinated coffee, and caffeine and the risk of incident psoriasis in women in the United States.