New study links psoriasis to metabolic syndrome

Reykjavik, Iceland - Results of a new study suggest that patients - especially women - with psoriasis may be at increased risk for metabolic syndrome, MedPage Today reports.

In a national sample of more than 6,500 people, researchers at Reykjavik’s Landspitali, the National University hospital of Iceland, found the prevalence of metabolic syndrome to be higher among patients with psoriasis (40 percent) than among those without (23 percent). In addition, they found that metabolic syndrome prevalence was higher among women with psoriasis than it was among male psoriasis patients.

“Given the serious complications associated with the metabolic syndrome, this frequent comorbidity should be recognized and taken into account in the long-term treatment of individuals with psoriasis,” the authors wrote, adding that a diagnosis of psoriasis should “trigger a high clinical suspicion and investigation for a potential coexistence of the metabolic syndrome.”

Investigators called for further research into how individual treatment regimens may affect metabolic syndrome and risk of cardiovascular disease.