Relation between insulin resistance and severity of psoriasis in Egyptian patients

Background Psoriasis is an immune-mediated disease of multifactorial etiology. The prevalence of insulin resistance (IR) in patients with psoriasis has been extensively studied. The prevalence varies based on many factors such as aging, genetics, diet, and sedentary lifestyle. Aim To study the association between psoriasis and IR and detection of the correlation between level of IR and the psoriasis severity. Patients and methods A total of 30 patients with psoriasis and similar number of age-matched and sex-matched controls were enrolled in this study. Patients and controls were subjected to the following measurements: systolic and diastolic blood pressure, BMI, serum triglycerides, cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein, high-density lipoprotein, fasting plasma glucose, serum insulin, and IR. Assessment of psoriasis severity was done using psoriatic area severity index score. Results A statistically significant difference regarding serum insulin, IR, fasting plasma glucose, triglyceride, low-density lipoprotein, systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, and BMI was found between patients and controls. A positive correlation between psoriasis severity and level of IR was also found. Conclusion and recommendation Patients with psoriasis had strong association with IR. The level of IR correlated with severity of psoriasis. Dermatologists and internists should give more attention toward screening and early recognition of associated metabolic disorders and IR. Correction of metabolic syndrome and IR should be initiated in this group of patients.