Abstract :
Context: Epidemiological data demonstrate that psoriasis patients suffer from a spectrum of co-morbidities such as cardiovascular disorders and metabolic syndrome (MS).
Aims: To compare the prevalence of metabolic syndrome and its individual components in psoriatic patients to that of the control population. Also to compare the descriptive characteristics of psoriasis in patients with and without the metabolic syndrome.
Settings and Design: Cross-sectional study.
Methods and Material: 51 patients with a clinical diagnosis of chronic plaque psoriasis were taken for the study. Metabolic syndrome was identified with the National Cholesterol Education Program’s Adult Treatment Panel III guidelines.
Statistical analysis used: Statistical Package for the Social Sciences {SPSS} version 13 software, Chi square test and Student’s t test were used where appropriate.
Results: MS was found in 21(41.2%) of the psoriatic patients compared to only 16 (31.4%) of non-psoriatic controls in our study. Psoriatic patients with MS had a higher mean age and later age of onset of psoriasis. There was no positive correlation of severity or duration of the disease with MS in this study, but psoriatic arthritis was found to be more in patients having metabolic syndrome. Also psoriatic patients with MS had a statistically significant higher BMI than psoriatics who had no MS.
Conclusions: MS was found to be more in psoriatic patients, even though it was not statistically significant. Psoriatic patients with MS had a higher mean age, later age of onset, higher BMI and higher prevalence of psoriatic arthritis than those without MS.
Keyword :
Crosssectional study, Metabolic syndrome, Psoriasis vulgaris.