Psoriasis may carry clogged arteries risk similar to that with diabetes- JAMA Dermatology Study

People with diabetes are twice as likely to have heart disease or a stroke as people without diabetes, and to experience these at an earlier age, according to CDC.

One risk factor common to both psoriasis and diabetes and thought to play a role in elevated heart disease risk is chronic inflammation, which is known to promote arterial buildup.

The researchers studied 387 people who were in their early 50s, on average, and were recruited from outpatient clinics between 2013 and 2015. The participants either had moderate to severe psoriasis but no diabetes or other inflammatory health conditions, or they had type 2 diabetes but no psoriasis or other inflammatory conditions or they had neither psoriasis, diabetes nor any other inflammatory conditions.

At least half of each group had no apparent coronary artery calcium build-up, but 19 people with psoriasis had high levels of build-up, as did 20 people with diabetes and just four people with neither disease, according to the results in JAMA Dermatology.

People with psoriasis tended to have fewer other heart disease risk factors like obesity, compared to those with diabetes. And when researchers adjusted for those kinds of factors, especially body mass, the link between diabetes and coronary calcium build-up was no longer significant, but the link to psoriasis remained.

“The results are important confirmation of prior work which has suggested that patients with more severe psoriasis have a similar increased risk of major adverse cardiovascular events compared to diabetes,” said Dr. Joel M. Gelfand, director of the Psoriasis and Phototherapy Treatment Center at the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine in Philadelphia.

“The precise mechanism explaining the association of psoriasis and cardiovascular diseases is not known but it is thought that chronic inflammation, common to both disorders, is the primary culprit,” Gelfand, who was not involved in the study, told Reuters Health by email.

In the short term, coronary artery calcium only presents a low risk to the heart, but becomes more dangerous as it builds up over time, he said.

“Get screened for cardiovascular risk factors at least once if you have psoriasis, and after the age of 40 they should get screened annually,” including measures of blood pressure, body mass index and cholesterol levels, Mehta said.

It also makes sense to try to exercise three to four times per week and adhere to a low fat, low salt diet, he said.