Individuals with psoriasis appear to have an increased risk of depression, anxiety and suicidality, according to a report by Penn Medicine dermatologists. The study appears in the August issue of Archives of Dermatology, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.
Resident Shanu Kurd, MD, MSCE, MHS, Joel Gelfand, MD, MSCE, assistant professor of Dermatology and Epidemiology at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, and colleagues studied data from electronic medical records in the United Kingdom from 1987 to 2002. The analyses included 146,042 patients with mild psoriasis, 3,956 patients with severe psoriasis and 766,950 patients without psoriasis (five control patients for each patient with psoriasis, selected from the same practice and similar entry dates). Patients were defined as having new-onset depression, anxiety or suicidality if corresponding diagnostic codes appeared in their records after follow-up began.
The excess risk attributable to psoriasis is one case of depression for every 39 patients with severe psoriasis per year (or per 87 patients in patients with mild psoriasis per year). The excess risks associated with psoriasis for anxiety and suicidality correspond to one case per 123 and 2,500 patients with psoriasis per year, respectively.
“It is important for clinicians to evaluate patients with psoriasis for these conditions to improve outcomes,” said the study authors.
For additional information, see: JAMA/Archives press release.
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