In a novel study researchers from US found that women who consume beer regularly are more prone to develop skin condition psoriasis. Psoriasis is a chronic skin disease typified by itchy red scaly patches that most commonly appear on the knees, elbows and scalp but can humiliate anywhere, including the face.
The effects can range from gentle to disfiguring enough to be socially disabling. Women who consumed five beers a week doubled their risk of developing the disease compared to those who did not drink at all.
In a study conducted by Archives of Dermatology, researchers observed more than eighty-two thousand female nurses aged twenty-seven to forty-four yeas and examined their drinking habits from 1991 to 2005. They found that seventy-two percent increased risk of psoriasis in women who consumed more than three drinks a week compared to non drinkers.
Women who consumed more than five glass of beer a week had 1.8 times increased risk of developing psoriasis. When firm criterions were used to verify psoriasis cases, their risk was increased 2.3 times. Non alcoholic wine, beer and spirits were not found to raise the risk.
Non-light beer was the only alcoholic drink that augmented the risk of psoriasis, proposed that certain non-alcoholic constituents of beer which are not present in wine and liquor play a significant role in onset psoriasis, said study author Dr Abrar Qureshi, from Harvard Medical School, Boston.
The study recommends that it could be the gluten containing barley, used in the fermentation of beer due to which risk of psoriasis increases. Earlier studies have proved that gluten free diet can improve psoriasis in patients who are perceptive to gluten. The study concluded that Women with a high risk of psoriasis may think evading higher intake of non-light beer.