Psoriasis of the nails associated with disability in a large number of patients: results of a recent interview with 1,728 patients.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE

Occurrence rates of clinical features of nail psoriasis vary considerably in the literature. Little information is available on subjective complaints of patients affected by psoriasis of the nails.

METHOD

Interviews with 1,728 psoriatic patients concerning their nail changes and complaints are reviewed.

RESULTS

The results indicate that pitting and deformation are the most common clinical aberrations in psoriatic nails, with a positive association between the duration of skin lesions and nail psoriasis. No relation was found between age and nail psoriasis in this group. Remarkably, 51.8% of patients suffered from pain-caused by the nail changes, and a large group of patients was restricted in their daily activities, housekeeping and/or profession (58.9, 56.1, 47.9%). Treatment was disappointing: only 19.3% showed marked improvement during treatment.

CONCLUSION

This indicates that psoriasis of the nails is a more important individual and social-economic problem than previously assumed and that development of new treatments is needed.