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Updated: May 31, 2026

Measuring Psoriasis Severity at Home
Published on: March 1, 2024
Patients with psoriasis have a higher prevalence of parental cardiovascular disease
Paolo Gisondi1, Camilla Dalle Vedove, Giampiero Girolomoni
1Section of Dermatology and Venereology, Department of Medicine, University of Verona, Verona, Italy. paolo.gisondi@univr.it
Insights
Patients with psoriasis have a higher prevalence of parental cardiovascular disease (CVD) history, including maternal myocardial infarction and paternal stroke. This suggests assessing family history of CVD in psoriasis patients can improve cardiovascular risk assessment.
Area of Science:
- Cardiology
- Dermatology
- Genetics
Background:
- Parental history of cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a significant risk factor for offspring CVD.
- Patients with chronic plaque psoriasis face an intermediate risk of developing CVD.
Purpose of the Study:
- To determine the prevalence of a parental history of CVD among individuals with psoriasis.
- To assess the association between psoriasis and parental history of myocardial infarction and stroke.
Main Methods:
- A cross-sectional study involving 236 adult patients with chronic plaque psoriasis and 246 controls.
- Parental history of myocardial infarction and/or stroke was gathered using a structured questionnaire.
- Self-reported data accuracy was verified against hospital records.
Main Results:
- A significantly higher prevalence of positive parental history of maternal myocardial infarction (11.8% vs. 6.5%) and premature maternal myocardial infarction (6.8% vs. 1.2%) was observed in psoriasis patients.
- Psoriasis patients also showed a higher incidence of positive parental history of paternal stroke (10.5% vs. 5.6%).
- A parental history of psoriasis was notably more common in cases (35%) than controls (2%).
Conclusions:
- Parental history of CVD is more prevalent in patients with psoriasis.
- Investigating parental history of CVD in psoriasis patients is recommended for a thorough cardiovascular risk evaluation.
Background:
Parental history of cardiovascular disease (CVD) is an independent risk factor for offspring CVD. Patients with chronic plaque psoriasis have an intermediate risk of developing CVD.
Objective:
To investigate the prevalence of parental history of CVD in patients with psoriasis.
Method:
A cross-sectional study on 236 adult patients with chronic plaque psoriasis and 246 controls was performed. Parental history of myocardial infarction and/or stroke was investigated by using a structured questionnaire. The accuracy of the self-reported information was confirmed by the hospital registry.
Results:
A positive parental history of maternal myocardial infarction was observed in 28/236 cases compared to 16/246 controls (11.8 vs. 6.5%; p = 0.04). A positive parental history of premature maternal myocardial infarction (i.e. <65 years) was observed in 16/236 cases compared to 3/246 controls (6.8 vs. 1.2%; p = 0.01). Moreover, a positive parental history of paternal stroke was observed in 25/236 cases compared to 14/246 controls (10.5 vs. 5.6%; p = 0.04). A positive parental history of psoriasis was higher in cases than in controls (35 vs. 2%; p < 0.001).
Conclusions:
Parental history of CVD could also be investigated in patients with psoriasis for a more comprehensive estimation of their cardiovascular risk.
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