Prevalence of patient-reported comorbidities in early and established psoriatic arthritis cohorts

The aim of this study is to describe the comorbidity profile in patients with early and established psoriatic arthritis (PsA). Patients with PsA were selected from a registry of patients with psoriasis in Newfoundland. Patients with a diagnosis of psoriasis according to the CASPAR classification criteria are entered in the registry at the time of diagnosis, questioned on their medical history, and are followed indefinitely. Patients who were diagnosed with PsA within the last 2 years were included in the early PsA cohort, whereas the established cohort was comprised of patients with a diagnosis for ≥2 years. The general population of Newfoundland without psoriasis or PsA was used as external standard to conduct age- and gender-adjusted comparison of the comorbidity profile of the PsA cohorts to the general population. A total of 108 (65.5%) and 57 (34.5%) patients were included in the established and early PsA cohort, respectively. Patients with early and established PsA had significantly higher age- and gender-adjusted prevalence of hypertension, diabetes, depression, Crohn's disease, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. In addition, in the early PsA cohort, the age-adjusted prevalence of coronary heart disease and angina was significantly higher when compared to the general population. Distinct comorbidities are associated with PsA even at early stages of disease progression, the early detection and management of which could improve the patients' disability, morbidity, and quality of life.