Evaluation of skin surface hydration in Korean psoriasis patients: a possible factor influencing psoriasis

Psoriasis is recognized as a chronic, relapsing disorder of the skin, and its clinical course is influenced by various environmental factors. However, only a few articles have addressed the effect of low epidermal hydration status as an exacerbating factor of psoriasis. Our study was performed to investigate the relationship between subjective assessment and quantified data regarding dryness parameters in psoriasis patients. Seventy psoriasis patients were enrolled in our study. Subjective assessments were undertaken by evaluating the extent of involvement, erythema, scale and infiltration of individual lesions. Functional status of stratum corneum was evaluated by measuring electrical capacitance and conductance of the lesional and uninvolved skin of psoriatic patients. In addition, measurement of trans-epidermal water loss was performed. The results showed poor hydration status and barrier function in involved psoriatic epidermis compared with the uninvolved skin. Subjective assessment showed fairly good correlation with the quantified values. In conclusion, the degree of dryness in psoriatic skin lesions--which we presume to be one of the aggravating factors of psoriasis--seemed to be related to disease severity.