Clinical characteristics including cardiovascular and metabolic risk factors in adolescents with psoriasis

Research output: Contribution to journalJournal articlepeer-review

BACKGROUND: Clinical studies on psoriasis in adolescents have mainly been performed in patients with severe psoriasis. Population-based studies of clinical characteristics and risk factors for later cardiovascular and metabolic disease in children and adolescents are lacking.

OBJECTIVES: To examine the clinical characteristics of adolescents with psoriasis nested in a general population cohort. Furthermore, to investigate cardiovascular and metabolic risk factors in the adolescents with psoriasis compared to parentally predisposed and non-predisposed adolescents without psoriasis from the same birth cohort.

METHODS: We identified adolescents with and without psoriasis using a nationwide general population birth cohort in Denmark. A clinical examination included skin inspection and scoring of psoriasis severity, completion of a questionnaire on psoriasis and comorbidities, physical measurements, and blood sampling. Participants also completed self-administered questionnaires on quality of life and mental health.

RESULTS: We included 81 adolescents with psoriasis and 234 controls (110 with genetic predisposition for psoriasis and 124 without predisposition). Median age was 15.6 (13.5-18.5) years, and in those with active psoriasis, median PASI score was 1.2 (0.1-11.4). The scalp was the most common site of psoriasis, both at debut and at time of examination. Diaper rash in infancy was more frequent in the psoriasis group. No significant differences regarding quality of life, anxiety, and depression were found. More adolescents with psoriasis were obese (8.6% vs. 1.7%, p=0.008) and physical measures of abdominal obesity were also significantly higher. HbA1c was significantly higher (31.55 vs. 30.81 mmol/mol, p=0.048), while no differences were found for blood pressure, lipids, or hs-CRP. In a subgroup analysis, this was evident in the non-predisposed psoriasis-free controls only.

CONCLUSIONS: Overall, adolescents with psoriasis from this general population had mild disease. Still, early markers of cardiovascular and metabolic disease were elevated.

Original languageEnglish
JournalJournal of the European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology : JEADV
Volume34
Issue number7
Pages (from-to)1516-1523
Number of pages8
ISSN0926-9959
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2020

Bibliographical note

© 2020 European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology.

ID: 235850496