Publication:

Study of psoriasis and related co-morbid conditions

Background Psoriasis is a chronic, inflammatory papulosquamous disorder of the skin in which both genetic and environmental factors have a crucial role. Comorbidities tend to arise in complex disorders; they are usually multifactorial and most frequently demonstrate an inflammatory pathology. Aim and objectives of the study include: to determine the occurrence of comorbidities; to determine if the presence of these comorbidities is related to the severity of psoriasis; and to determine if the presence of comorbidities is related to the duration of psoriasis.

Methods 100 patients diagnosed with psoriasis, attending DVL OPD of a tertiary care teaching hospital were enrolled based on inclusion and exclusion criteria. General, systemic examination and relevant investigations are done to determine co-morbidities in these patients.

Results Among 100 patients, 70 (70%) patients were having comorbidities. Most of the patients had one comorbidity (38%) followed by two comorbidities (16%) and more than two comorbidities (15%). Dyslipidemia (56%) was the commonest comorbidity followed by diabetes mellitus (23%), obesity (20%), hypertension (18%) and metabolic syndrome (15%). 76% of patients with severe disease and 68% of patients were having mild to moderate psoriasis had co-morbidities. Among 80 patients with less than 5 years of disease duration, only 54 (67.5%) patients were having comorbidities. While 20 patients with more than 5 years of duration of disease, 16 (80%) were having comorbidities.

Conclusions Wide range of co-morbid conditions are associated with psoriasis. The need for comprehensive screening and treatment must be recognized and addressed.