Physical activity is important for cardiovascular health and cardiorespiratory fitness in patients with psoriasis

Background: Patients with psoriasis have a level of physical activity below that recommended for cardiovascular health, which is significantly limited by severity of disease and other psoriasis-specific barriers.
Objectives: We hypothesised that physical activity is important for cardiovascular health in patients with psoriasis and that its objective measurement could have clinical utility. The purpose of this study was to explore whether physical activity influences the risk of cardiovascular disease in patients with psoriasis.  Methods: 242 patients with chronic plaque psoriasis were recruited. History, examination and physical activity were assessed and arteriography, the non-invasive measurement of arterial function, was performed for each participant.
Results: We observed a significant relationship between volume of physical activity and the likelihood of future cardiovascular disease (CVD) as measured by pulse wave velocity (PWV; p=0.017). We identified a significant relationship between health-promoting levels of physical activity (p<0.001) and the diastolic reflection index (DRA), in addition to a significant correlation between the likelihood of future CVD and DRA (p<0.001). The DRA is a complex, dimensionless variable which describes the diastolic wave reflection intensity and the duration of diastole; key determinants of the blood supply to the left ventricle. Our data suggest that DRA may represent a surrogate marker for cardiorespiratory fitness.
Conclusion: Our study describes a significant relationship between exercise, cardiorespiratory fitness and PWV, a preclinical indicator of future CVD risk, in patients with psoriasis. The DRA offers a non-invasive, objective, measurement of exercise adherence which could have clinical utility in the future.