Patients with severe psoriasis are at a higher risk for heart disease, study confirms

The study revealed that psoriasis severity, assessed by the Psoriasis Area Severity Index (PASI) score, and the duration of the disease were independently associated with lower CFR, along with the presence of psoriatic arthritis. Furthermore, results from the study showed that conventional cardiovascular risk factors, such as tobacco use, hyperlipidemia, and diabetes mellitus, were not independently associated with reduced CFR in patients with severe psoriasis. These findings emphasize the importance of considering inflammation and psoriasis-related factors in assessing cardiovascular risk in patients with severe psoriasis.

The findings shed light on the potential mechanism by which psoriasis increases the risk of cardiovascular complications in affected individuals, in agreement with previous studies on chronic inflammatory conditions, such as rheumatoid arthritis, systemic lupus erythematosus and systemic sclerosis. The study supports the role of systemic inflammation in the development of coronary microvascular dysfunction.

Reference: Coronary Microvascular Dysfunction in Asymptomatic Patients with Severe Psoriasis Journal of Investigative Dermatology, DOI 10.1016/j.jid.2023.02.037