Empowering Heliotherapy Improves Clinical Outcome and Quality of Life of Psoriasis and Atopic Dermatitis Patients

Abstract

Empowering heliotherapy aims at clinical healing and improved coping with psoriasis and atopic dermatitis, but evidence of long-term effects is scarce. We studied the effect of 2-week empowering heliotherapy in the Canary Islands on clinical outcome and quality of life in 22 psoriasis and 13 atopic dermatitis patients. Empowerment consisted of meeting peers, sharing experiences and performing physical and mental practices. Using the self-administered PASI (SAPASI) psoriasis was alleviated statistically significantly during heliotherapy (p < 0.001), and the treatment effect was still detectable 3 months later (p < 0.001). Atopic dermatitis was improved (p < 0.001) when assessed with the patient-oriented SCORAD (PO-SCORAD), and the effect was still obvious 3 months later (p = 0.002). During heliotherapy the dermatology life quality index (DLQI) improved in both groups (p < 0.001), persisting in atopic patients for up to 3 months (p = 0.002), but not in psoriasis patients. In conclusion, a 2-week empowered heliotherapy showed a long-lasting improvement in psoriasis and atopic dermatitis disease activity, and also in the quality of life of atopic patients.