The Study Finds That Excess Weight Loss May Reduce Inflammation

A team of researchers from NYU Langone Medical Center, including Dr. Christine Ren-Fielding, found that patients who undergo bariatric surgery experience significant reductions in their psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis symptoms.
The study’s findings suggest that losing excess weight may improve symptoms in people who have these conditions. Dr. Christine Ren-Fielding and the other NYU Langone researchers believe that obesity may contribute to the risk of psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis through fat tissue-driven systemic inflammation.
“Psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis are chronic inflammatory conditions that can be quite uncomfortable and often painful for patients, so any treatment that might reduce symptoms may improve quality of life,” says lead study author Soumya Reddy, MD, an assistant professor of medicine in the division of rheumatology at NYU Langone, and co-director of NYU Langone’s Psoriatic Arthritis Center. “Our new study shows that those who shed excess weight could see significant symptomatic relief.”

Dr. Soumaya Reddy

Excess weight loss may reduce systemic inflammation and pain, both of which are caused by excess of fat tissue.
For the study, Dr. Soumaya Reddy and colleagues including Dr. Christine Ren-Fielding reviewed the charts of over nine thousand bariatric surgery patients treated between 2002 and 2013 at NYU Langone’s Weight Management Program.

Patients who had bariatric surgery saw significant reductions in their disease severity scores at post-surgical follow-up.

Interestingly, the results were more pronounced in those with severe disease activity.
Those who lost the most excess weight a year after surgery showed the biggest improvements in their disease activity, proving a direct relationship between weight loss and relieved symptoms.

“This study highlights the collaborative spirit of academic medicine, and how our rheumatology and bariatric surgery researchers worked together to not only help our patients directly, but inform the medical community at large,” says study co-author Jose U. Scher, MD, assistant professor of rheumatology and co-director of NYU Langone’s Psoriatic Arthritis Center. “These findings can be used to identify people who may benefit most from this type of intervention.”

You can read more about the research here.