Alcohol misuse in patients with psoriasis: identification and relationship to disease severity and psychological distress.
Authors
McAleer, M AMason, D L
Cunningham, S
O'Shea, S J
McCormick, P A
Stone, C
Collins, P
Rogers, S
Kirby, B
Affiliation
Department of Dermatology, St Vincent's University Hospital, Elm Park, Dublin 4, , Ireland.Issue Date
2012-02-01T10:33:56ZMeSH
AdultAge Factors
Aged
Alcohol Drinking/blood/psychology
Alcohol-Related Disorders/diagnosis/*etiology/psychology
Anxiety Disorders/etiology
Biological Markers/metabolism
Depressive Disorder/etiology
Epidemiologic Methods
Female
Humans
Male
Middle Aged
Psoriasis/*psychology
Quality of Life
Sex Factors
Stress, Psychological/*etiology
Transferrin/analogs & derivatives/metabolism
gamma-Glutamyltransferase/metabolism
Metadata
Show full item recordCitation
Br J Dermatol. 2011 Jun;164(6):1256-61. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2133.2011.10345.x.Journal
The British journal of dermatologyDOI
10.1111/j.1365-2133.2011.10345.xPubMed ID
21457207Abstract
BACKGROUND: Moderate to severe psoriasis is associated with increased alcohol intake and excessive mortality from alcohol-related causes. Alcohol biomarkers provide an objective measure of alcohol consumption. Carbohydrate-deficient transferrin (CDT) is the single most sensitive and specific alcohol biomarker. OBJECTIVES: To assess alcohol consumption in a cohort of patients with moderate to severe psoriasis using standard alcohol screening questionnaires and biomarkers. We investigated whether there was an association between alcohol intake, anxiety, depression and disease severity. METHODS: Consecutive patients with chronic plaque psoriasis were recruited and completed a range of anonymized assessments. Psoriasis severity, anxiety and depression, and the impact of psoriasis on quality of life were assessed. Alcohol screening questionnaires were administered. Blood specimens were taken and gamma-glutamyltransferase (gammaGT) and CDT were measured. RESULTS: A total of 135 patients completed the study. Using validated questionnaires, between 22% and 32% had difficulties with alcohol. Seven per cent had CDT > 1.6% indicating a heavy alcohol intake. The Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) questionnaire was superior to other validated questionnaires in detecting alcohol misuse. There were no significant associations between measures of excessive alcohol consumption and disease severity. Excessive alcohol intake as measured by the CAGE questionnaire was associated with increased depression (P = 0.001) but other measures of alcohol excess did not correlate with psychological distress. Men had significantly more difficulties with alcohol than women (P < 0.001). CONCLUSION: Alcohol misuse is common in patients with moderate to severe psoriasis. Screening with the AUDIT questionnaire and CDT may allow the identification of patients who are misusing alcohol and allow appropriate intervention.Language
engISSN
1365-2133 (Electronic)0007-0963 (Linking)
ae974a485f413a2113503eed53cd6c53
10.1111/j.1365-2133.2011.10345.x