An update on psoriasis and metabolic syndrome: A meta-analysis of observational studies

The relationship between psoriasis and metabolic syndrome is not well understood. Though multiple epidemiologic studies have suggested a link between psoriasis and metabolic syndrome, there is a lack of a comprehensive meta-analysis synthesizing the results of all available observational studies to date. In this meta-analysis, we examined global data on the relationship between psoriasis and odds of metabolic syndrome by searching for studies published between 1946-2016. Specifically, we analyzed the results from 35 observational studies from 20 countries with 1,450,188 total participants, of which 46,714 were psoriasis patients. The pooled odds ratio based on random effects analysis was 2.14 (95% CI 1.84-2.48). Publication bias was present, as evidenced by an Egger test and graphical visualization through a funnel plot (p = 0.001). Based on this comprehensive meta-analysis, psoriasis patients have higher odds of having metabolic syndrome when compared with the general population.