Sex-Specific Relationship Between Psoriasis and Cardiovascular and Metabolic Diseases

Previous studies have observed a correlation between psoriasis and cardiovascular and metabolic diseases, but sex-specific, population-based study data on cardiovascular risk factors in patients with psoriasis and the association between psoriasis and these diseases are lacking. A new study analyzed the prevalence of psoriasis and cardiovascular risk factors based on sex, as well as determine sex-specific relationships between psoriasis and type 2 diabetes and metabolic syndrome.

The authors evaluated data from the Heinz Nixdorf Recall study on patients who did not have coronary heart disease and who had data available on psoriasis, type 2 diabetes, and metabolic syndrome. A total of 3,723 patients (age range, 45-75 years; 54.1% were female) were included in this analysis.

Of the total cohort, 3.8% of patients (n=143) had psoriasis; no between-sex differences were observed (women, 3.8%; men, 3.9%). The overall prevalence of hypertension was 35.3%. Men with psoriasis were more likely than those without to have hypertension (49.3% vs. 43.1%), but rates did not largely differ between women with and without psoriasis (29.0% vs. 28.5%). Women with psoriasis, compared with those without, were more likely to present metabolic and cardiovascular risk factors. However, in males, the opposite was true. Upon multiple regression analyses, women with psoriasis had significantly increased prevalence rate ratios (PRs) for diabetes (fully adjusted PR, 2.43; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.17-5.07), as did men with psoriasis (fully adjusted PR, 2.09; 95% CI, 1.16-3.76). Metabolic syndrome outcomes were inconsistent; in women, a positive correlation between psoriasis and metabolic syndrome was observed (fully adjusted PR, 1.84; 95% CI, 1.14-2.98), but the correlation was negative in men (fully adjusted PR, 0.69; 95% CI, 0.42-1.12).