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Clinical Summary

Multiple sclerosis and psoriasis: is there a link?

Takeaway

  • Meta-analysis of observational studies suggests that patients with multiple sclerosis show 29% increased prevalence and 92% higher incidence of psoriasis.

Why this matters

  • Findings call for large prospective studies to evaluate association between multiple sclerosis and psoriasis.
  • Patients with multiple sclerosis may need careful monitoring.

Study design

  • Meta-analysis of 11 studies including 1,112,832 participants were identified after a search on MEDLINE, Embase, and CENTRAL until July 2018.
  • Funding: None.

Key results

  • Case control and cross-sectional studies:
    • 9 studies (5 case control, 4 cross-sectional) including 18,456 patients with multiple sclerosis and 870,149 individuals without multiple sclerosis.
    • Presence of multiple sclerosis was associated with a significantly higher prevalence of psoriasis (pooled OR, 1.29; 95% CI, 1.14-1.45).
  • Cohort studies:
    • 2 studies including 25,187 patients with multiple sclerosis and 227,225 individuals without multiple sclerosis.
    • Patients with multiple sclerosis had a significantly increased risk for psoriasis (pooled HR, 1.92; 95% CI, 1.32-2.80).

Limitations

  • Heterogeneity between studies.
  • Causal relationship cannot be evaluated.

References


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