Metabolic syndrome and comorbidities in patients with psoriasis: a community-based case-control study from the Nagahama cohort in Japan

Background Psoriasis is reported to be associated with systemic diseases, such as metabolic syndrome (MetS), which is related to high blood pressure, hyperglycaemia, obesity and dyslipidaemia. However, clinical factors associated with psoriasis in the general population have not been fully elucidated. Objectives To explore the clinical factors associated with psoriasis by analysing a dataset of community-based cohort studies Materials & Methods The study participants consisted of 9,183 apparently healthy community residents in Japan (mean age: 64.5 +/- 10.7 years). The clinical parameters used in this study were obtained from a baseline investigation performed between 2008 and 2010. The history of psoriasis was queried using a structured questionnaire Results A total of 335 participants (3.6%) had a history of psoriasis. The psoriasis group was older (64.5 +/- 10.7 vs 57.9 +/- 12.3 years; p < 0.001) and mostly male (43.9 vs 33.0 %, p < 0.001) compared to the non-psoriasis group. Based on univariate analysis, the prevalence of MetS was higher in the psoriasis group (19.1 vs 13.6%, odds ratio = 1.50, p = 0.004), although this association disappeared after adjustment for age and sex. Similar results were observed based on the analysis of each MetS component. Other factors associated with psoriasis were history of tinea pedis (age-and sex-adjusted odds ratio = 5.27), gout (1.97), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (5.83), reflux oesophagitis (1.72) and depressive symptoms (1.57). After further adjustment for potential covariates, the associations with these factors remained significant. Conclusion Several chronic conditions associated with psoriasis in the general population were identified