MedWire News: Patients with psoriasis are almost twice as likely to have the metabolic syndrome as people in the general population, study findings indicate.
In a nationally representative sample of US men and women, Thorvardur Jon Love, from Landspitali University Hospital in Reykjavik, Iceland, and colleagues found that 40% of adults with psoriasis had the metabolic syndrome.
"These findings may partially explain the increased future risk of cardiovascular-metabolic morbidity and mortality among individuals with psoriasis reported in previous studies," they say.
The team adds: "Given the serious complications associated with the metabolic syndrome, this frequent comorbidity should be recognized and taken into account in the long-term treatment of individuals with psoriasis."
As reported in the Archives of Dermatology, Jon Love et al surveyed 24,565 US adults aged 20-59 years. Of these, 71 had psoriasis, at a prevalence of 4%.
The prevalence of the metabolic syndrome, defined by the revised National Cholesterol Educational Program Adult Treatment Panel II definition, was 40% among patients with psoriasis, compared with 23% among those without the skin condition.
Based on these data, the researchers estimate that of the 6.6 million adults aged 20-59 years with psoriasis in the USA (according to 2008 US census data), 2.7 million have the metabolic syndrome. This is nearly a million more individuals than would be expected to be affected among those without psoriasis, they saysay].
After accounting for age, gender, race/ethnicity, smoking status, and C-reactive protein levels, psoriasis patients were 1.96 times more likely to have the metabolic syndrome than people without psoriasis.
Abdominal obesity was the most common feature of the metabolic syndrome in patients with psoriasis, affecting 63% of patients, followed by hypertriglyceridemia and low high-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels.
The researchers conclude: "A diagnosis of psoriasis should trigger a high clinical suspicion and investigation for a potential co-existence of the metabolic syndrome.
"If present, the syndrome needs to be recognized as a potentially more life-threatening factor than psoriasis given the serious associated complications."
They believe that the cornerstones of treatment should be management of weight and appropriate levels of physical activity.
MedWire (www.medwire-news.md) is an independent clinical news service provided by Current Medicine Group, a trading division of Springer Healthcare Limited. © Springer Healthcare Ltd; 2011
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