Multicomorbidity in Psoriasis Vulgaris: A Retrospective Analysis.

BACKGROUND

The frequencies of comorbidities in patients with psoriasis have been compared to that in the general population in many studies. Moreover, several studies have investigated the risk factors influencing the number of comorbidities in patients with psoriasis. However, a few studies have examined clusters of patients with psoriasis according to their comorbidities. In this study, we aimed to explore the multicomorbidities of psoriasis vulgaris in terms of risk factors and clusters.

METHODS

All diagnoses of 452 patients with psoriasis vulgaris were extracted from electronic medical records of a tertiary hospital. Binary association coefficients were calculated for all pairs of comorbidities. Subsequently, a hierarchical cluster analysis was performed.

RESULTS

Among the patients, 30.5% had no comorbidities, 28.8% had a single comorbidity, and 40.7% had multiple comorbidities. The number of comorbidities was positively associated with age and follow-up duration but not with sex. The most striking cluster of comorbidities was composed of diabetes, hepatosteatosis, hyperlipidemia, hypertension, cancer, and cardiovascular disease.

CONCLUSION

This cluster could be explained by cardiometabolic multimorbidity. Exploring such clusters may provide a more forward-looking perspective for the management of psoriasis patients.