Association of psoriasis disease with physical activity and exercise: systematic review and meta-analysis

Introduction:
Psoriasis (Pso) is an inflammatory autoimmune skin disease. High BMI, and elevated body fat and body weight is associated with risk of Pso development. People with Pso have lower physical activity than people without Pso, so they are at higher risk for comorbidities and underlying disease. Exercise has been shown to improve disease outcomes and inflammation in people with psoriasis.

Aim:
Meta-analysis study to investigate the physical activity in psoriasis patients.

Methods:
We designed this study according to the Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) statement. The ISI, Scopus, PubMed, Cochrane Library, and Google Scholar have been used to search articles up to the end of May 2024.

Results:
A total of 1319 articles were extracted from the databases, and 7 articles were selected for analysis. High-intensity exercise levels were significantly lower in Pso patients than in healthy people (RR = 0.75; 95% CI: 0.60–0.93; p = 0.010). But there was no significant difference between the 2 groups regarding moderate-intensity exercise (RR = 0.80; 95% CI: 0.57–1.12; p = 0.20) and low-intensity exercise (RR = 1.42; 95% CI: 0.36–5.60; p = 0.62). Also, the number of metabolic equivalent task (MET) minutes in the Pso group was significantly lower than in healthy controls (SMD = –0.71; 95% CI: –0.86–0.56; p < 000001). Finally, the post-exercise PASI score decreased significantly in psoriatic patients (SMD = 3.98; 95% CI: 0.48–7.48; p = 0.03).

Conclusions:
High-intensity physical activity is significantly lower in Pso patients than in healthy people, MET in the Pso group was significantly lower than in healthy controls, and the post-exercise PASI score decreased significantly in psoriatic patients, which means physical activity intervention can be suggested as a therapeutic method for Pso patients.