ABSTRACT

Background: One inflammatory, persistent skin condition is psoriasis. Dietary, environmental, genetic, oxidative stress, and immune variables all contribute to the pathophysiology of psoriasis. Resistin, an adipokine, as well as vitamin E (VE) and vitamin D (VD), has been shown to correlate with the pathogenesis of psoriasis. Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the level of resistin in psoriasis patients and its relation with body mass index (BMI), VE and VD, and the severity of the disease. Methods: A case-control study was conducted on 90 participants; 30 healthy subjects and 60 psoriasis patients of mild and moderate severity (30 patients in each group). Serum levels of resistin, VE and VD were measured in the three groups. Results: Serum levels of resistin were found significantly higher in the moderate psoriasis group (3.01 ± 0.3 ng/mL) than in the mild psoriasis group (2.07±0.2 ng/mL) and healthy control (1.3 ± 0.27 ng/mL) (p < 0.001). Levels of VE and VD were found lower in the moderate psoriasis group (3.3 ± 1.4 μg/mL and 14.0 ± 3.1 ng/mL, respectively) than in the mild psoriasis group (7.15 ± 0.5 μg/mL and 16.8 ± 2.8 ng/mL, respectively) and the control group (19.3 ± 1.3 μg/mL and 25.0 ± 1.8 ng/mL, respectively) (p<0.001). A significant positive correlation (r = 0.65, p value = 0.04*) was reported between serum resistin levels and BMI in moderate psoriasis compared with mild and control groups. Conversely, a significant and slight non-significant negative correlation was obtained between serum resistin levels with VD and VE (r = - 0.49, p value = 0.05; r = -0.34, p value = 0.3, respectively) in the same groups. Conclusion: The results of this study indicated that resistin plays a major part in the pathophysiology of psoriasis and may lead to the development of potential novel diagnostic or therapeutic approaches. Blood levels of resistin may be significantly influenced by VD and body mass index.