Impact of an aerobic training intervention program in psoriasis without arthritis

According to a recent study, an aerobic training intervention program was found to be safe, well tolerated, and effective in reducing fatigue and musculoskeletal pain in male patients with psoriasis (PsO) without arthritis (PsA). This study was published in the journal, Nutrients. 

In this interventional study, 118 male patients with PsO were randomly allocated to the experimental and control groups, with an equal number of patients (n=59) in both. The intervention comprised of an aerobic training program on a treadmill (3 sessions/week), which consisted of a warm-up, followed by a 35-50 min treadmill exercise (increasing 5 min/4 weeks), with a 50-65% peak heart rate (increasing 5%/4 weeks), and finally, cooling down. Health assessment questionnaire disability index (HAQ-DI), functional assessment of chronic illness therapy fatigue scale (FACIT-Fatigue), and visual analogue scale (VAS) were used for pre and post-intervention comparison. Other parameters assessed were nutritional intake, lipid profile, maximal aerobic power, body composition, and serum markers of muscle damage. 

At the end of the study period, it was found that compared to baseline, HAQ-DI, FACIT-Fatigue, and VAS scores were significantly improved without increasing markers of muscle damage. Similarly, lipid profile, fat mass percentage, and maximal oxygen consumption were also improved. 

From the above results, it can be concluded that the 16-week aerobic training program may be safe, well tolerated, and effective in psoriatic patients without PsA.