Comorbidity Burden in Psoriasis Patients with Skin of Color.

BACKGROUND: Psoriasis is a chronic disease with increased risk of numerous comorbidities. Known differences exist regarding treatment outcomes for psoriasis patients with skin of color (SOC). However, factors contributing to these differences are relatively unknown.

OBJECTIVES: This study aims to compare the comorbidity burden in SOC psoriasis patients vs. White patients, as measured by the Charlson Comorbidity Index (CCI) score.

METHODS: We utilized the National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey (NAMCS) to identify visits for adult psoriasis patients occurring in the years 2002-2016 and 2018. The CCI was used to objectively measure comorbidity burden. Patients were identified by race, and SOC was defined as any reported race besides White Only. A multiple linear regression was run to compare the CCI among adult psoriasis patients based on race and ethnicity, controlling for age, sex, insurance status, and geographic region.

RESULTS: A total of 39,176,928 weighted visits were analyzed. Compared to White patients, patients with SOC did not have statistically significant differences in comorbidity burden, as measured by CCI score (p=0.073 for Black/African American Only vs. White Only, p=0.073 for American Indian/Alaska Native Only vs. White Only, p=0.435 for Asian Only vs. White Only, p=0.403 for Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander Only vs. White Only, p=0.195 for Other vs. White Only).

CONCLUSION: Patients with SOC were not found to have differences in comorbidity burden compared to White patients. These results highlight that social factors such as socioeconomic status and access to healthcare may contribute more directly to psoriasis treatment outcomes than patient race.