Psoriasis linked to diabetes, hypertension

	Tweet

Women with psoriasis run a higher risk of diabetes and High Blood Pressure, perhaps because of the underlying inflammation that causes the skin condition, researchers said on Monday.

Psoriasis should be considered “a systemic disorder, rather than simply a skin disease,” Dr. Abrar Qureshi of Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School in Boston wrote in a study in the April issue of Archives of Dermatology.

They looked at data from thousands of female U.S. nurses who enrolled in a study in 1991 and have been checked periodically for numerous health-related issues.

They said 1,813 women were diagnosed with psoriasis over a 14-year period. These women were 63 percent more likely to develop diabetes and 17 percent more likely to develop hypertension than those who were psoriasis-free.

The team said inflammation can lead to High Blood Pressure and may also be a factor in insulin resistance, a pre-diabetic condition.

“Inflammation could be a biologically plausible mechanism” underlying the association with diabetes, the researchers said. “Psoriasis is a chronic inflammatory disease, and inflammation is a risk factor for hypertension.”

The link was found regardless of their weight, age and whether they smoked. While other studies have linked psoriasis to diabetes and hypertension, factors like obesity and smoking have variously been blamed, the researchers said.

Psoriasis, a chronic inflammatory skin disease that causes itchy red plaques on the skin’s surface, affects about 7.5 million people in the United States alone. In severe cases large areas of the body can be affected, and it can bring arthritis, depression and other problems.

Because the study was restricted to white women, the findings cannot be generalized to men or to other races, the researchers added.

While systemic steroid therapy for psoriasis could foster diabetes or hypertension, such treatment is not the standard for care in the United States, the researchers said. And patients often abandon steroid creams after short periods of use.

CHICAGO (Reuters)

RELATED STORIES:
Obese siblings of diabetic children at risk   Electronics that stick and stretch like a temporary tattoo   Strokes strike younger adults as diabetes and obesity raise the risks   Which diabetes drug is best for diabetics with kidney disease?   People with Rheumatoid Arthritis and Type 2 Diabetes Share Same Risk for Cardiovascular Disease   Diabetes & Elevated Cholesterol Linked to Faster Cognitive Decline in Alzheimer’s   Diabetes helps explain obesity-birth defect link   Diabetes undetected in many heart patients   Too much PlayStation can cause painful lumps: study   Age-Related Conditions Develop Faster in Adults with Diabetes   Diabetes triples the risk of liver cancer   It’s not a stroke of fate, but hypertension and diabetes

Comments

[ + Post Your Own ]

Now you're in the public comment zone. What follows is not Armenian Medical Network's stuff; it comes from other people and we don't vouch for it. A reminder: By using this Web site you agree to accept our Terms of Service. Click here to read the Rules of Engagement.

What is psoriasis? What causes psoriasis? Is there a cure or treatment for psoriasis? Psoriasis is a skin condition, it is a disease, but it is not contagious. The name comes from the Greek word for “itch.” It can be hereditary, caused by external influences (allergic reaction to foods or the environment) and sometimes stress. 4-5% of the population is known to be affected, and this number is growing. However, it is suspected that 1 in 5 people have some form of psoriasis either descripts or none descript. Once you have psoriasis, it is very likely you will have it for ever. It may go away, and come back. It might respond to various treatments, and it may not. Basically psoriasis is your body over producing skin cells. You have too many skin cells in one location which is why it often swells up, becomes dry and even flaky. It can often be very itchy, red, sore, cracked and very tender. Psoriasis usually affect the scalp, hands, stomach, knees, feet and elbows. It is linked to dandruff and unfortunately to some forms of arthritis.

posted by john on 06/02/2009 at 7:27 am -08:00