Psoriasis Is More than Skin Deep

For the approximately 7.5 million Americans affected by psoriasis, the thick, red, scaly, itchy plaques it causes only scratch the surface when it comes to the overall implications of this disease. Now, ongoing research linking psoriasis to other serious medical conditions and the incredible toll it can take on a person’s overall quality of life are shifting the way psoriasis is viewed – from a common skin disease to a complex systemic condition.

Speaking today at the 68th Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Dermatology (Academy), dermatologist Alan Menter, MD, FAAD, chair of the Psoriasis Research Unit at Baylor Research Institute in Dallas, addressed the need for psoriasis to be viewed as a serious disease affecting the whole body with significant quality of life issues.

“In the past, psoriasis was viewed primarily as a cosmetic nuisance that was not thought to extend beyond the obvious plaques apparent on the skin,” said Dr. Menter. “With the discovery of multiple genes related to psoriasis, a better understanding of the immune system responses involved in this disease, and the frequent associations with other serious diseases, we know that psoriasis is a much more complex disease that demands continual monitoring and evaluation by a dermatologist and, if necessary, other medical professionals to address related health issues.”

The Link between Psoriasis and Other Serious Medical Conditions

Over the years, multiple studies have found that psoriasis is associated with a number of potentially serious medical conditions, including cardiovascular disease, cancer and lymphoma, obesity and metabolic syndrome (also known as “Syndrome X”), autoimmune diseases (Crohn’s disease and diabetes mellitus I and II, for example), psychiatric diseases (such as depression and sexual dysfunction), psoriatic arthritis, sleep apnea, personal behavior issues, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and even increased mortality. Dr. Menter explained that the majority of these diseases can have a significant impact on a patient’s overall health and affect psoriasis patients in different degrees of severity.

“It is important to note that while we are unsure whether psoriasis causes other diseases or that these other diseases cause psoriasis, the fact that an association exists at all is critically important in treating psoriasis patients,” said Dr. Menter.

One recent observational study of 3,236 patients with psoriasis and 2,500 patients without psoriasis who served as the controls concluded that patients with psoriasis experienced an increased incidence of ischemic heart disease (where the blood vessels are blocked leading to the heart), cerebrovascular disease (where the blood vessels are blocked leading to the brain), and peripheral vascular disease (the obstruction of arteries in the arms and legs), and mortality.1