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Updated: Dec 15, 2025
11:39
The Goeckerman Regimen for the Treatment of Moderate to Severe Psoriasis
Published on: July 11, 2013
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Increased biologic utilization in Latino patients with psoriasis.
Tammy Gonzalez1, Alan B Fleischer1
1Department of Dermatology, University of Cincinnati School of Medicine, Cincinnati, OH, USA.
The Journal of Dermatological Treatment
|July 10, 2020
Summary
Hispanic/Latino ethnicity and private insurance independently predict higher biologic use in psoriasis patients. This suggests potential biological factors may drive increased biologic utilization in this demographic.
Area of Science:
- Dermatology
- Health Services Research
- Health Disparities
Background:
- Hispanic/Latino populations experience more extensive psoriasis than non-Hispanic/Latino populations.
- Biologics are a key treatment for moderate-to-severe psoriasis, but utilization patterns across ethnicities are not well-understood.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate whether biologic utilization differs between Hispanic/Latino and non-Hispanic/Latino individuals with psoriasis.
- To identify predictors of biologic use in psoriasis patients.
Main Methods:
- Utilized data from the National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey (NAMCS) between 2003 and 2016.
- Identified psoriasis visits using ICD-9/ICD-10 codes.
- Assessed biologic use as the primary outcome.
Main Results:
- Hispanic/Latino individuals constituted 9.7% of the study population.
- Multivariate analysis showed a significantly increased likelihood of biologic utilization in Hispanic/Latino patients compared to non-Hispanic/Latino patients (OR 2.4, p=0.03).
- Private insurance status was also an independent predictor of increased biologic use (OR 2.4, p=0.02), but did not differ between ethnic groups.
Conclusions:
- Hispanic/Latino ethnicity is an independent predictor of biologic utilization in psoriasis.
- Private insurance status is also an independent predictor of biologic use.
- Findings suggest that biological mechanisms may contribute to the higher observed use of biologics in Hispanic/Latino psoriasis patients.
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