Vascular inflammation improves in people with psoriasis when they make therapeutic lifestyle changes, according to a study involving 65 individuals.

Using MRI, clinicians evaluated participants’ vascular inflammation and wall characteristics at baseline and 1 year later. They also looked at exercise frequency via patient surveys and provider assessments.

Vascular inflammation decreased at 1 year, and was inversely linked with exercise frequency. The decrease correlated with a 40% improvement in aortic distensibility and an 8.5% decrease in aortic wall thickness.

The authors concluded that the decrease in vascular inflammation that they observed could translate to a ∼30% reduction in future adverse events, based on prior studies.

Citation: Joshi A, Shukla T, Aberra T, et al. Vascular inflammation and aortic wall characteristics modulate following lifestyle changes in psoriasis patients at 1 year follow up. [Published online ahead of print February 25, 2016]. J Investig Med. doi:10.1136/jim-2016-000080.39.