Study nixes link between high gluten and psoriasis, PsA, atopic dermatitis

Takeaway

• The Nurses Health Study (NHS) II failed to find an association between high dietary gluten and new-onset psoriasis, psoriatic arthritis (PsA), or atopic dermatitis.

Why this matters

• Findings do not support gluten as a modifiable risk factor for psoriasis, PsA, or atopic dermatitis.

Study design

• The NHS II prospective cohort study included 85,185 participants for psoriasis, 85,324 for PsA, and 63,443 for atopic dermatitis analyses.
• Dietary gluten was calculated from a Food Frequency Questionnaire given every 4 years (1991-2015 for psoriatic disease, 1995-2013 for atopic dermatitis).
• To determine disease outcome, participants were asked about year of diagnosis every few years but no later than 2013, and disease onset was validated by medical records.
• Funding: NIH; Brown University; Regeneron; Sanofi.

Key results

• Multivariate analysis did not find an association between high (vs low) quintile of dietary gluten and:
  • Psoriasis: HR, 1.15; 95% CI, 0.98-1.36.
  • PsA: HR, 1.12; 95% CI, 0.78-1.62.
  • Atopic dermatitis: HR, 0.91; 95% CI, 0.66-1.25.

Limitations

• Observational design.
• No confirmation of dietary gluten.
• No assessment of gluten and disease severity.