Association between Psoriasis and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

Psoriasis is considered a systemic inflammatory disorder. Previous studies have reported conflicting positive or negative correlations between psoriasis and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. We performed a meta-analysis to determine whether there is an associated risk between psoriasis and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. We performed a complete 30-year literature search of MEDLINE, Embase, and Cochrane Central Register databases on this topic. Four observational studies with a total of 13,418 subjects were identified. The odds ratios of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in subjects with psoriasis/mild-to-moderate psoriasis were analyzed using the random-effects model, while the odds ratios of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in subjects with severe psoriasis and current smoking in subjects with psoriasis were analyzed using the fixed-effect model. We found that psoriasis patients were at a greater risk of developing chronic obstructive pulmonary disease than the general population (odds ratio, 1.90; 95% confidence interval, 1.36–2.65) and that the association between of psoriasis and with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease was stronger among patients with severe psoriasis (odds ratio, 2.15; 95% confidence interval, 1.26–3.67). Psoriasis patients should be advised to cease smoking to reduce their risk of COPD. Moreover, identification of this potential risk may enable earlier implementation of preventive measures for reduction comorbidity and mortality rates.