Dose-dependent link; patients with severe psoriasis more likely to receive diabetes pharmacotherapy
TUESDAY, June 19 (HealthDay News) -- Psoriasis is an independent risk factor for the development of type 2 diabetes mellitus, and this risk increases with increasing severity of psoriasis, according to a study published online June 18 in the Archives of Dermatology.
To assess the risk of incident diabetes mellitus in patients with psoriasis, Rahat S. Azfar, M.D., from the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, and colleagues analyzed electronic medical records for 108,132 patients with psoriasis (aged 18 to 90 years) and 430,716 matched, unexposed controls. Only patients who developed incident diabetes mellitus during the study time frame were included.
The researchers found that the fully adjusted hazard ratios for incident diabetes mellitus were 1.14 overall, 1.11 in the mild psoriasis group, and 1.46 in the severe psoriasis group. The adjusted risk for receiving diabetes mellitus pharmacotherapy was 1.55 among those with incident diabetes and severe psoriasis.
"Further research into the extent to which psoriasis and its treatment play a role in the development of type 2 diabetes mellitus and its complications is warranted," the authors write. "In addition, it is necessary to determine why patients with severe psoriasis who develop diabetes mellitus are more likely to receive prescription hypoglycemic treatments."
Two authors disclosed financial ties to the pharmaceutical industry.
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