Characteristics and prevalence of plaque psoriasis in patients with palmoplantar pustulosis

Abstract

Background

Palmoplantar pustulosis (PPP) is a chronic pustular skin condition on palms and soles. The disease is often seen in combination with plaque psoriasis, and whether PPP is a variant of psoriasis has been debated. The disease prevalence of PPP and co‐occurring psoriasis is not yet established and the patient group remains understudied.

Objectives

To estimate the prevalence of PPP and co‐occurring psoriasis in three population‐based cohorts and provide information on patient demographics and characteristics.

Methods

Administrative healthcare registries and insurance databases from the US, Denmark and Germany were used as data sources. Patients with PPP were defined by a single ICD‐10 code for PPP during a one‐year period. Information regarding co‐occurring plaque psoriasis and other comorbidities were extracted. Furthermore, use of anti‐psoriatic medication was identified.

Results

A total of 1435, 751 and 1832 patients with PPP were identified in the US, Danish and German populations, with an estimated one‐year prevalence of 0.009%, 0.005%, and 0.08%, respectively. Plaque psoriasis was prevalent in 14.2% to 61.3% of patients with PPP. Patients with co‐occurring psoriasis had an overall higher prevalence of psoriatic arthritis. Similarly, medication use was more prevalent in PPP patients with co‐occurring psoriasis, especially pronounced was the use of biologic therapies.

Conclusions

This large observational study on patients with PPP provides detailed information regarding patient demographics, comorbidities, and medication use. The one‐year prevalence of PPP varied in the three studied populations, possibly due to differences in diagnostics and recording practices. Psoriasis was frequently co‐occurring in patients with PPP.

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