Higher bodily adiposity, fat intake, and cholesterol serum levels are associated with higher disease activity in psoriatic arthritis patients: is there a link among fat and skin and joint involvement?

Introduction/ Objectives: Assuming that there is a link between lipid and glucose metabolism and inflammation in patients with psoriatic arthritis (PsA), our aim was to evaluate the relationships among body composition measurements, food intake, and disease activity in patients with PsA.

Methods: A total of 97 patients with PsA, according to the CASPAR criteria, were included in this cross-sectional study. Body composition measurements (whole-body DXA, GE-Lunar), food intake (3-day registry) and biochemical and inflammatory serum markers were evaluated. Skin and joint disease activity were assessed by using PASI, BSA, DAS28, and minimal disease activity (MDA). The level of significance was set as p < 0.05.

Results: A higher prevalence of obesity, according to the fat mass index (FMI) (92.7%), and metabolic syndrome (MetS) (54%) were found, but no significant changes regarding lean or bone mass were found. Joint disease activity was positively correlated with total body fat (r = 0.4; p < 0.001), FMI (r = 0.33; p < 0.001), body mass index (r = 0.20; p < 0.049) and waist circumference (r = 0.27; p = 0.009). In addition, joint disease activity was negatively associated with muscle mass (r = - 0.38; p < 0.001). Skin disease activity was positively correlated with total cholesterol (r = 0.3; p = 0.003) and LDL-cholesterol (r = 0.28; p = 0.006). After multiple adjustments, patients with severe joint disease activity had higher body adiposity than patients in remission or with low disease activity. Skin disease activity was associated with higher trans-fat intake and lower omega-6 consumption.

Conclusions: Our data suggest a possible harmful link among fat (body adiposity, saturated fat consumption, LDL-cholesterol serum levels) and joint and skin disease activity in patients with PsA.