Metabolic syndrome and its components in patients with psoriasis

Psoriasis is a chronic inflammatory disease of the skin which affects 1-3% of the population. A higher association of metabolic syndrome (MS) has been described amongst sufferers. The objective of this study was to assess the association of MS and its components amongst subjects suffering psoriasis and compare it with that found for the control group. The secondary objective was to study the relationship between the duration and severity of the psoriasis and the MS. This was a case–control study: 102 subjects with psoriasis and 102 control subjects paired by sex, age and body mass index. Anamnesis: history of diabetes mellitus, arterial hypertension, dyslipidaemia and psoriasis. Lifestyle. Physical examination: weight, height, blood pressure, waist circumference. Tests: lipid profile, oral glucose tolerance test and insulinemia (HOMA calculation). MS classified according to the 2009 consensus. The prevalence of MS amongst psoriasis patients was 52.9%, as compared to 34.31% in the control group. MS independent factors: age (OR 1.085), body mass index (OR 1.346), sex (OR 2.69 for men) and psoriasis (OR 3.634). A comparative study of patients with psoriasis with or without MS, revealed no relationship to the severity, age at time of diagnosis or time of evolution of the psoriasis. In conclusion, the association of MS amongst psoriasis sufferers is very high and the disease is considered as an independent risk factor for MS. Our results show no relationship between the different characteristics of psoriasis and the presence of MS. The main limitation of this study is that it does not enable to conclude whether psoriasis is a risk factor for MS or the opposite.