High prevalence of psoriatic arthritis found among psoriasis patients
Psoriatic arthritis, a chronic, autoimmune inflammatory arthritis that occurs in conjunction with psoriasis, has a high prevalence among patients with psoriasis, according to a study.
The researchers carried out a single-center, cross-sectional study over a 12-month period, enrolling a total of 360 consecutive patients diagnosed with psoriasis. The classification of Psoriatic ARthritis (CASPAR) criteria was employed to diagnose psoriatic arthritis in the study participants.
The results of the study found that 29.7% of the psoriasis patients examined also had psoriatic arthritis. The gender distribution was found to be equal among psoriatic arthritis patients, and the mean age of arthritis onset was approximately 40.7 years with a standard deviation of 12.8 years. Interestingly, in most cases (81.3%), psoriasis preceded the onset of arthritis, with an average latency interval of 10.5 years.
Among the psoriatic arthritis patients, the researchers identified various subtypes of the disease, with polyarthropathy being the most prevalent affecting 46.8% of patients. This was followed by oligoarthropathy (22.4%), axial joint disease (5.6%), predominant distal interphalangeal joint disease (2.8%), and a mixed subtype (22.4%). The study also found that enthesitis and dactylitis occurred in 12.1% and 20.6% of arthritis patients, respectively, while deformity was present in 37.4% of them.
The study investigated potential risk factors associated with psoriatic arthritis in psoriasis patients. Being an ever smoker was found to have a significant association with reduced odds of psoriatic arthritis and genital involvement in psoriasis was associated with increased odds of developing psoriatic arthritis. Additionally, elevated erythrocyte sedimentation rate and C-reactive protein levels were also identified as risk factors for psoriatic arthritis in patients with psoriasis.
Reference
Loo YP, Loo CH, Lim AL, et al. Prevalence and risk factors associated with psoriatic arthritis among patients with psoriasis. Int J Rheum Dis. 2023 Jul 24. doi: 10.1111/1756-185X.14833. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 37485806.
