Mind-body connection plays role in coping with disease.(NEWS)

PRAGUE -- A mind-body connection may play a role in a psoriasis patients' disease adaptation, study data suggest.

Lipoprotein levels and the aminoterminal fragment of pro-brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) correlated with various psychosocial aspects of psoriasis, Dr. Aldona Pietrzak of the Medical University of Lublin, Poland, reported at the International Congress of Dermatology.

Higher levels of certain lipoproteins correlated with disease acceptance and quality-of life-problems. Quality of life decreased as levels of NT-proBNP increased, particularly among men.

"Parameters of cardiovascular abnormalities, such as NT-proBNP and lipid levels, are associated with psychological dimensions of adjustment to psoriasis," said Dr. Pietrzak. "The mechanisms elucidating these associations require further studies."

Epidemiologic data have shown that psoriasis patients have an increased risk of cardiovascular disease. Explanations for the increased risk are incomplete but likely involve conventional and unconventional cardiac risk factors, she said.

Lipid abnormalities have a well-documented association with coronary heart disease, and elevated NT-proBNP has been linked to worse outcomes in heart failure. Both metabolic parameters have been implicated in psoriasis severity, she continued.

Expanding the associations to psychosocial aspects of psoriasis, Dr. Pietrzak and her colleagues studied 104 patients with psoriasis. The cohort had a mean Psoriasis Area and Severity Index score of about 24 and body surface involvement of about 30%.

The patients' lipid profiles and NT-proBNP levels were compared with scores derived from three psychosocial assessment tools: the Skindex 29 measure of disease-related quality of life, the Acceptance of Disease Scale, and a disease-related social support scale. The lipid profile comprised total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, HDL cholesterol, triglycerides, apolipoprotein-A1 (apo-A1) and apo-B.

The analysis showed that higher LDL levels were associated with a lower acceptance of life with disease, and higher NT-proBNP levels were associated with a lower quality of life.

Among men, higher NT-proBNP levels also correlated with increased physical symptoms and emotional stress.

In women the degree of acceptance of life with disease correlated inversely with total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, and apo-B levels. Levels of apo-B significantly influenced physical symptoms, emotions, and disease-related quality of life in women.

Perceived level of social support had a positive correlation with acceptance of life with disease.

Dr. Pietrzak reported having no relevant conflicts of interest.

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