Psoriasis: comorbidities and associations

Psoriasis is a chronic, genetic, inflammatory skin disease affecting approximately 2% of the population worldwide. Over the past decade, multiple studies have shown that not only is there an association between psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis, depression, and substance abuse, but psoriasis patients also have a higher incidence of obesity, diabetes, heart disease and stroke. In addition, and more concerning, young psoriatic patients particularly those with more severe disease are at an increased mortality risk even when controlling for these factors. The systemic inflammation in psoriasis generates elevation of C-reactive protein, homocysteine, and inflammatory cytokines such as TNF-alpha, IL-6, IL-17, IL-20, IL-22, and IL-23, which may contribute to the overall morbidity and mortality in these patients. Within this article we will discuss the associations between psoriasis and multiple systemic health problems.