Masteronderzoek Reumatologie

Diet of patients with psoriatic arthritis and its impact on disease activity

Background
Psoriatic arthritis (PsA) is a chronic inflammatory arthritis with a heterogenous clinical presentation, affecting around 20% of patients with psoriasis. The pathophysiology of PsA results from a complex interplay between genetic predisposition and environmental triggers. Recently, diet has gained increasing attention as a lifestyle factor that may influence disease activity in PsA; however, the existing literature remains limited. Understanding the role of diet in PsA disease activity would provide a foundation for future interventions aimed at improving patient outcomes. Diet can influence the immune system through the macronutrient and micronutrient composition and total energy intake. Both dietary composition and calorie intake can also influence the gut microbiome, which plays a role in modulating immune-inflammatory pathways. In PsA, these alterations in immune function could translate to clinical features such as joint inflammation, skin lesions, and enthesitis, which are markers of disease activity. The Dutch south west Early Psoriatic ARthritis (DEPAR) study is a prospective cohort study that collects real-world data on early PsA patients. We aim to integrate a dietary assessment into DEPAR to study the diet of patients with PsA.

Objectives
We aim to:

• Assess the diet inflammatory potential of adult patients with PsA using the dietary inflammatory index (DII)
• Investigate the associations between DII and PsA disease activity
• Assess the feasibility of using food frequency questionnaire among this population

Student activities
The study will analyze data from the DEPAR cohort at a single time-point. Your activities will include conducting focus group discussions to assess feasibility, preparing and analyzing data related to diet and disease activity, and monitoring patient responses to the food frequency questionnaire. If there is sufficient time, you will also analyze the results from these focus groups. Of course, you will receive enough supervision to support all your activities! This research will be developed into an original research paper for publication. Participating as an author in this study is also possible.

Interested in the research topic?
This master thesis will be conducted within the department of Rheumatology, Erasmus MC. Your supervisors will be Dr. Jolanda Luime and Batoul Hojeij.
If you are interested in participating in this research, please send your CV to Batoul Hojeij: b.hojeij@erasmusmc.nl

Preferred start date is Autumn 2025