Holistic dermatology focuses on treating the human body as a whole and implementing life-style changes to enhance the treatment and prognosis of skin disease. Understanding the interplay between modifiable life factors and patients’ dermatologic health will help physicians better inform patients on self-care methods to mitigate the burden of their skin disease(s).
To review the current scientific literature on the relationship between modifiable life factors and dermatological outcome of skin disorders.
A systematic literature search on PubMed, Cochrane, and Web of Science was conducted to identify research articles examining the relationship between dermatology and six major categories of modifiable life factors: diet, sleep, exercise, stress, alcohol, and smoking.
A substantial amount of evidence supports the relationship between modifiable life factors and dermatologic outcomes. There were the most studies on diet, stress, alcohol, and smoking but all life factors were supported by some degree of scientific evidence.
All the modifiable life factors explored in this review play a critical role in modulating the onset and progression of skin disease. We anticipate more research studies in the future and an increasing integration of holistic dermatology into patient care.

Copyright © 2020. Published by Elsevier Inc.

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