Psoriasis Severity Influences Type 2 Diabetes Risk

Disease severity is associated with a higher risk for type 2 diabetes in patients with psoriasis, according to a recent study.

Currently, little data exists about the relationship between psoriasis severity and the risk for type 2 diabetes.
___________________________________________________________________________

RELATED CONTENT
Psoriasis Drug Safe, Effective for 2-Year Use
Psoriasis Increases Risk for Metabolic Syndrome
___________________________________________________________________________

To assess this further, the researchers evaluated adults with (n = 8124) and without (n = 76,599) psoriasis in the United Kingdom. Patients were categorized based on body surface area affected by psoriasis. Follow-up lasted approximately 4 years.

Findings showed that there had been 280 (3.44%) incident cases of diabetes in patients with psoriasis, compared with 1867 (2.44%) in those without psoriasis. Following adjustment for age, sex, and body mass index, hazard ratios for developing incident diabetes were 1.21 for those with psoriasis affecting 2% of less of body surface area, 1.01 for psoriasis affecting 3% to 10% of body surface area, and 1.64 for psoriasis affecting at least 10% of body surface area.

The researchers estimated that an additional 125,650 new cases of type 2 diabetes will be diagnosed per year in patients with psoriasis compared with those without psoriasis.

“Clinicians may measure [body surface area] affected by psoriasis in order to target diabetes prevention efforts for patients with psoriasis,” the researchers concluded.

—Christina Vogt

Reference:

Wan MT, Shin DB, Hubbard RA, Noe MH, Mehta NN, Gelfand JM. Psoriasis and the risk of diabetes: a prospective population-based cohort study [Published online November 8, 2017]. J Am Acad Dermatol. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jaad.2017.10.050.