Women beer drinkers 'increase psoriasis risk' (BBC)

[eppur_se_muova]

Women who drink beer regularly are more likely to develop the skin disease psoriasis, a US study suggests.

The study found that women who drank five beers a week doubled their risk of developing the condition compared with women who did not drink.
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Author Dr Abrar Qureshi, from Harvard Medical School, Boston, wrote in the journal: "Non-light beer was the only alcoholic beverage that increased the risk of psoriasis, suggesting that certain non-alcoholic components of beer, which are not found in wine or liquor, may play an important role in new-onset psoriasis."

The study suggests that it could be the gluten-containing barley, used in the fermentation of beer, which is the cause of the increased psoriasis risk.

Previous studies have shown that a gluten-free diet may improve psoriasis in patients who are sensitive to gluten.
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more: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-10986617

[supernova]

1. I didn't understand this

until a few years ago.

I suspected initially that I was not digesting bread well. Just felt lousy, tired, bloated, and some GI upset to boot. Then I began to get these irritating scalp rashes. I asked my sister to take a look. She has psoriasis and she confirmed that my itchy scalp did indeed look like psoriasis. I tried all kinds of the medicated shampoos. They did relieve the itching for a little while, but not the rash itself.

Initially I chalked it up to PMS symptoms. But one day I looked up bread allergy. After a little reading I realized the culprit was really the wheat gluten. Lo and behold one of the symptoms is a rash that looks like psoriasis!

As soon as I read all that. I began to remove wheat products. I now drink gluten free beer on the rare occasion I get a hankering for that flavor.

[MineralMan]

2. I had psoriasis for a couple of years when in high school.

Yucky stuff.

But, there's this awful commercial from the 60s about "The Heartbreak of Psoriasis." Tegrin did not work.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ePhsap0xKk

[dmallind]

3. Once again an all important fact is missing

I have absolutely no idea why respectable news agencies report relative risks of complaint X without equally stressing base risk. If I buy two lottery tickets I double my chance of winning $100,000,000 too, so does that mean people should rearrange thir lives if they buy two lottery tickets instead of one?

To be sure the base risk of psoriasis is likely greater than the "risk" of a meagamillions jackpot, but by how much is the key question. If it is many many orders of magnitude more likely we could still be talking about trading a 0.1% risk of psoriasis for a 0.2% risk. H

[supernova]

4. Or to put it this way

People who have gluten allergy or sensitivity should lay off the regular beer and all wheat/grain products.

D'uh.

Since Britain is awash in alcohol, "psoriasis" after a night down the pub might be their first most obvious clue.