Association between bullous pemphigoid and neurologic diseases: a case-control study

Area of Science:

• Dermatology
• Neurology
• Epidemiology

Background:

• Bullous pemphigoid (BP) is increasingly linked to comorbidities, particularly neurological and psychiatric conditions.
• Previous studies across various populations confirm this association, but data from the Spanish population were lacking.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the association between bullous pemphigoid and concurrent neurologic conditions in the Spanish population.
• To identify specific neurological conditions associated with bullous pemphigoid.

Main Methods:

• Observational, retrospective, case-control study with 1:2 matching.
• Fifty-four bullous pemphigoid patients were compared with controls.
• Univariate and conditional multiple logistic regression analyses were used to assess associations with various comorbidities.

Main Results:

• Bullous pemphigoid patients had a significantly higher prevalence of cerebrovascular accident/transient ischemic attack (OR, 3.06), dementia (OR, 5.52), and Parkinson disease (OR, 5).
• A significantly higher percentage of bullous pemphigoid cases presented with neurologic conditions overall (OR, 6.34).
• Dementia and Parkinson disease showed independent association with bullous pemphigoid in multivariate analysis.

Conclusions:

• Patients diagnosed with bullous pemphigoid exhibit a greater frequency of co-occurring neurologic conditions.
• Dementia and Parkinson disease are significantly associated with bullous pemphigoid in the Spanish population.