Disease Burden and Quality of Life in Psoriasis Patients With and Without Comorbid Psoriatic Arthritis: Results From National Psoriasis Foundation Panel Surveys
The comorbidity profile and overall disease impact are not well understood in psoriasis with and without comorbid psoriatic arthritis (PsA). The objective of this study was to compare disease characteristics, comorbidities, and psoriasis-related quality of life (QOL) in patients with moderate to severe psoriasis with and without comorbid PsA using results from National Psoriasis Foundation (NPF) surveys. The study included 3395 and 2072 patients with psoriasis alone and psoriasis with PsA, respectively. The results showed the burden of psoriasis either independently or with comorbid PsA. As severity of psoriasis increased, patient health and QOL were found to decline.
Practice Points
- Patients with psoriatic arthritis (PsA) often have severe cutaneous psoriasis. These patients may be at higher risk for comorbid conditions and impaired quality of life (QOL) compared to patients with psoriasis alone.
- The severity of cutaneous psoriasis, both in patients with psoriasis alone and those with comorbid PsA, is remarkable and is associated with worse QOL scores.
Patient Comorbidities
Patients with moderate to severe psoriasis and comorbid PsA reported significantly higher rates of diabetes mellitus, lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, other arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, and high blood pressure than patients with moderate to severe psoriasis alone (P<.05)(Table 2). In the group with psoriasis alone, patients with moderate to severe psoriasis had significantly lower rates of lupus compared to those with mild psoriasis (P<.05). In the group with PsA, patients with moderate to severe psoriasis were significantly more likely to report diagnoses of colitis, diabetes mellitus, heart disease, and high blood pressure compared to those with mild to no psoriasis (P<.05).
