Study: Risk of Psoriasis Related to BMI

A recent study published in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology compared the incidence rate of psoriasis in patients who were stratified by body mass index (BMI) category, those being normal or underweight, overweight, obese class 1, obese class 2/3.

This retrospective cohort analysis was of a demographically heterogeneous sample of over 1.5 million patients in the United States between January 1, 2008, and September 9, 2019. This study was limited by the lack of information influence obesity had on psoriasis severity.

It was found that a crude incidence of psoriasis per 10,000 person-years was 9.5 (95% confidence interval [CI], 9.1-10.0) among normal or underweight patients, (95% CI, 11.4-12.4) among overweight patients, 14.2 (95% CI, 13.6-14.9) among obese class 1 patients, and 17.4 (95% CI, 16.6-18.2) among obese class 2/3 patients.

When compared to patients with BMI less than 25.0, those who were overweight (adjusted hazard ratio, 1.19; 95% CI, 1.12-1.27; P < .001), obese class 1 (adjusted hazard ratio, 1.43; CI, 1.34-1.53; P < .001) and obese class 2/3 (adjusted hazard ratio, 1.83; CI, 1.71-1.95; P < .001) had significantly greater risks for developing psoriasis.

The authors concluded that there may be an association between BMI and the risk of psoriasis.

Reference:

Norden A, Rekhtman S, Strunk A, Garg A. Risk of psoriasis according to body mass index: A retrospective cohort analysis. Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology. 2021;0(0). doi:10.1016/j.jaad.2021.06.012