Childhood-onset psoriasis: association with future cardiovascular and metabolic comorbidities

Psoriasis is associated with higher prevalences of cardiovascular and metabolic comorbidities in adults but the relationship of age at onset and those prevalences is unknown.

To evaluate whether the childhood onset of psoriasis (COP) is correlated with the frequency of cardiovascular and metabolic comorbidities in adulthood.

This noninterventional, cross-sectional, multicentre study of adults with psoriasis was conducted in 29 dermatology centres in France. Data on sex, age at onset of psoriasis and its clinical characteristics, and cardiovascular risk factors, including weight, body mass index, waist circumference, dyslipidaemia, diabetes, hypertension, smoking, and personal/familial major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) were systematically recorded.

Two thousand two hundred and one patients with psoriasis (male: 56%; mean age: 49 years; 25% with COP) were included consecutively in the study. Univariate analysis showed that COP was associated with lower frequencies of obesity, high waist circumference, diabetes, dyslipidaemia, hypertension, familial cardiovascular disease, MACE and metabolic syndrome, but more frequent active smoking. Multivariate analysis retained age as being associated with frequency of cardiovascular and metabolic comorbidities, and sex with smoking, but not age at the onset of psoriasis. Psoriasis severity was associated with higher frequencies of obesity and psoriatic arthritis.

Our results showed that COP does not seem to be an additional risk factor for higher frequencies of cardiovascular and metabolic comorbidities during adulthood.