Takeaway
- Psoriasis was independently associated with a small but increased risk of serious infection.
- People with psoriasis had an increased risk of hospitalisation because of any infection; respiratory infections; soft tissue and skin infections.
- Mortality risk because of any infection was also higher in people with psoriasis vs those without.
Why this matters
- Findings warrant future studies to understand how psoriasis predisposes to a higher risk of infection.
Study design
- A cohort study included 69,315 patients with psoriasis and 338,620 matched comparators using the UK Clinical Practice Research Datalink (CPRD).
- Funding: None disclosed.
Key results
- Patients with psoriasis had a higher incidence rate of serious infection compared with those without psoriasis (20.5 [95% CI, 20.0-21.0] vs 16.1 [95% CI, 15.9-16.3] per 1000 person-years).
- After adjustment for potential confounders, patients with psoriasis vs those without were at an increased risk for hospitalisation because of:
- any infection (HR, 1.36; 95% CI, 1.31-1.40);
- respiratory infections (HR, 1.35; 95% CI, 1.27-1.44); and
- skin and soft-tissue infections (HR, 1.56; 95% CI, 1.43-1.70).
- Similarly, patients with psoriasis had an increased risk for death because of any infection (HR, 1.33; 95%CI, 1.08-1.63).
Limitations
- Potential risk of residual confounding and detection bias.
Yiu ZZN, Parisi R, Lunt M, Warren RB, Griffiths CEM, Langan SM, Ashcroft DM. Risk of Hospitalisation and Death due to Infection in People with Psoriasis: a Population-based Cohort Study using the Clinical Practice Research Datalink. Br. J. Dermatol.2020 Mar 28 [Epub ahead of print]. doi: 10.1111/bjd.19052. PMID: 32222069. Abstract. Full text (free).
This clinical summary first appeared on Univadis from Medscape.
