The prevalence of obesity is increased in patients with late compared with early onset psoriasis.

PURPOSE

We compared the clinical and epidemiologic characteristics of early and late onset psoriasis with an emphasis on potential differences in the comorbidities associated with each subtype.

METHODS

An observational, multicenter study was performed, and associations between the age at the time of diagnosis and binary comorbidity outcomes were evaluated using multiple logistic regression analysis adjusted for age and other relevant confounders.

RESULTS

An increased prevalence of positive family history, psoriatic arthritis, and depression was observed in patients with early onset psoriasis. On the other hand, late onset psoriasis was more frequently associated with obesity and elevated waist circumference compared with early onset form. Elderly psoriatic patients (at the age of 75 years) with late onset psoriasis are at an especially high risk for obesity compared with individuals at the same age with an early onset disease.

CONCLUSIONS

The increased frequency of psoriasis in the family of early onset patients may suggest that manifestation of psoriasis at younger age is driven by strong genetic influence. However, such a remarkable association of abdominal obesity with late onset psoriasis may suggest that obesity can be one of the acquired factors that may predispose for the development of psoriasis in the elderly.