Association of Metabolic Syndrome in Chronic Plaque Psoriasis Patients and their Correlation with Disease Severity, Duration and Age: A Case Control Study from Western Maharashtra.

INTRODUCTION: Psoriasis is a chronic systemic inflammatory disease where the skin and the joints are the primary targets. Despite the fact that psoriasis carries minimal risk of mortality, it is associated with significant morbidity which may have a significant impact on quality of life of patients. Globally, psoriasis has been reported to be associated with Metabolic Syndrome (MS) including obesity, dyslipidemia, diabetes and hypertension. Association of MS and its various components with psoriasis has been consistently reported in various studies, but there is a paucity of data on this association from the Indian subcontinent.

AIM: To compare the prevalence of MS in patients with psoriasis and controls and to determine association of MS with age of patient, severity and duration of psoriasis.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: A hospital based case control study on 95 psoriasis patients and 95 age and sex matched controls. MS was diagnosed by the presence of three or more of the South Asian Modified National Cholesterol Education Program's Adult Panel III SAM-NCEP criteria. Clinical, biometric and necessary laboratory evaluations were performed. Statistical analysis was performed by using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS version 16.0). Data was compared between cases and controls using unpaired t-test and chi-square test and odds ratio with 95% confidence interval.

RESULTS: MS was significantly more common in psoriatic patients than in controls (38.9%vs 21.05%, odds ratio 2.39, 95% confidence interval, 1.26-4.55; p-value=0.007). Psoriatic patients had higher prevalence of hypertriglyceridemia (45.2%vs.11.5%), decreased HDL cholesterol (27.3%vs.4.2%), abdominal obesity (32.6% vs.15.7%) and elevated blood pressure (18.9%vs.5.2%) whereas no association observed for elevated blood sugar level (12.6%vs.5.2%). MS was present in psoriasis cohort irrespective of severity and duration of psoriasis. (p-value 0.123, 0.596 respectively). MS was more prevalent in elderly individuals with psoriasis (51.1%vs.28% p-value=0.008; Odds ratio 3.12, 95% confidence interval 1.32-7.35).

CONCLUSION: Significant association between psoriasis and MS was noted and it was independent of disease duration and severity. Elderly psoriatic patients were more prone for developing MS. We suggest that all patients of psoriasis, irrespective of disease, duration and severity, should be screened for MS to prevent significant morbidity and mortality associated with it.