Onychomycosis prevalence significantly higher in psoriasis patients: Study

A total of 967 documents were found, and the final analysis included 13 studies with 10,967 non-psoriasis people and 2751 psoriasis patients. According to the meta-analysis, the prevalence of onychomycosis was 1.68 times higher in psoriasis patients than in non-psoriasis patients (95% CI: 1.21-2.33).

The probability of onychomycosis among clinically unrecognized patients was 1.78 times greater (95% CI: 1.33-2.38) for those with psoriasis than for those without the condition, according to subgroup analysis. Most of the included studies have moderate to low levels of bias.

According to the findings of this review and meta-analysis, it is critical to rule out nail lesions associated with onychomycosis before making a psoriasis diagnosis. This is especially important before starting immunosuppressive medications like methotrexate, steroids, or biologics, as they may make fungal infections worse. These results highlight how crucial it is to have a proper diagnosis, particularly before immunosuppressive treatment, in order to stop fungal infections from getting worse. Overall, psoriasis patients are far more likely to have onychomycosis than non-psoriasis people.

Source:

Liu, M., Kang, Y., & Zhang, R. (2025). The prevalence of onchomycosis in psoriasis patients: A systematic review and meta‐analysis. Mycoses, 68(2). https://doi.org/10.1111/myc.70035