Metabolic syndrome and risk of psoriasis

Summary

Psoriasis is a common chronic skin disease, which is associated with metabolic syndrome, but few have studied what comes first – the psoriasis or the metabolic syndrome. Metabolic syndrome is abdominal obesity, unfavourable levels of blood lipids, raised blood pressure and insulin resistance, and is associated with a substantially increased risk of cardiovascular disease. The researchers of this study are based in Norway, and they have followed 35 000 men and women over a period of 11 years. They aimed to find out if having metabolic syndrome would increase the risk of getting psoriasis. At the start of the study, a clinical examination of all participants was performed, where height, weight, waist circumference and blood pressure were measured. A blood sample was taken, and the participants answered a questionnaire. During this period, 374 individuals developed psoriasis. The researchers found that individuals with metabolic syndrome had 66% increased risk of developing psoriasis for the first time, compared to individuals without metabolic syndrome. When studying the different components of metabolic syndrome, they found that abdominal obesity was the most important factor in this association. The study shows that having a normal weight and avoiding a clustering of cardiovascular risk factors could help to prevent psoriasis.

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