Efficacy of hydrotherapy, spa therapy, and balneotherapy for psoriasis and atopic dermatitis: a systematic review

Abstract

Background: Atopic dermatitis (AD) and psoriasis are chronic inflammatory diseases that have significant skin complications.

Objective: The purpose of this systematic study was to evaluate the evidence obtained from human studies on the effects of hydrotherapy, spa therapy, and balneotherapy in psoriasis and atopic dermatitis.

Methods: The present systematic review was conducted according to the guidelines of the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) statements. Also, for this study databases such as Embase, PubMed, Scopus ProQuest, and sciences direct database were searched from the beginning to April 2021.

Results: All human studies that examined the effect of balneotherapy, spa therapy, and hydrotherapy on psoriasis and atopic dermatitis were published in the form of a full article in English. In the end, only 22 of the 424 articles met the criteria for analysis. Most studies have shown that balneotherapy, spa therapy, and hydrotherapy may reduce the effects of the disease by reducing inflammation and improving living conditions. In addition, the results of the Downs and Black score show that seven studies received very good scores, three studies received good scores, nine studies received fair scores, and three studies received poor scores.

Conclusions: The results of studies also showed that hydrotherapy leads to an improvement in the PASI score index. Nevertheless, more clinical trials are needed to determine the mechanism of action of hydrotherapy on these diseases.