A large study of the medical records of more than one hundred thousand patients has helped to identify the connection between psoriasis and other diseases. Specifically, scientists have found that individuals with dermatological conditions are more likely to develop diabetes and cardiovascular disease.
The study was conducted by dermatologists at the University of Pennsylvania, according to its results, the risk of additional diseases correlates with the severity of psoriasis.
The revealed risk ratio, or coefficient of disagreement, regarding some additional diseases for patients with psoriasis showed the following results: chronic obstructive pulmonary disease – 1.08; diabetes – 1.22; peptic ulcer – 1.27; kidney disease – 1.28; complicated diabetes – 1.34; heart attack – 1.34; moderate liver disease – 1.41; peripheral vascular disease – 1.38; rheumatological diseases – 2.04.
A group of researchers led by Joel Gelfand (ass. Prof. Ofdermatology & epidemiology) notes that based on the results of the previous experiment, diabetes and cardiovascular diseases were the most important, moreover, this may explain the increased mortality in patients with severe psoriasis.
In the epidemiological study, 99,385 participants were enrolled, of which 9035 had confirmed psoriasis, the age of such patients ranged from 25 to 64 years.
In addition to determining the high prevalence of certain diseases in patients with psoriasis, the study also suggested that the chances of developing these diseases increase along with the severity of the underlying disease.
According to the researchers, this relationship with the severity of the primary disease plays an important role, since it establishes the so-called dose-dependent effect, which suggests a causal relationship. Second, the findings are of great clinical relevance because psoriasis is a manageable disease; Understanding how the severity of skin lesions is associated with different health risks will help to optimally apply the research results to an individual approach to the treatment of a given disease.