Evaluation of cardiovascular risk in patients with psoriatic disease in a multiracial population: a cross-sectional...

Psoriatic disease (PD) is a chronic inflammatory disorder often associated with cardiovascular risk (CVR) factors such as obesity, hypertension, diabetes, dyslipidaemia and smoking. It is estimated that 2%-4% of the population worldwide has PD. Cutaneous lesions of psoriasis (PsO) may be associated with psoriatic arthritis (PsA) in up to 40% of patients. Studies have been carried out around the world with the aim of evaluating CVR in such patients.

To determine CVR in a multiracial population with PsA or PsO from southeastern Brazil, which has a predominantly tropical climate, compared with controls.

A cross-sectional study was carried out in outpatients with PsO or PsA followed up at a quaternary referral hospital in Rio de Janeiro. The Framingham Risk Score (FRS) was used to predict cardiovascular events (CVEs) over 10 years in patients with PsO and PsA compared with controls.

FRS was significantly higher at 10 years in patients with PsO (mean ± SD 16.3 ± 14) and PsA (18.0 ± 15) compared with controls (10.6 ± 9.5) (P = 0.01) and also increased with age. The chance of having a high FRS in the PsO and PsA groups increased by 0.30 and 0.23 times per year, respectively, compared with controls (PsO vs. controls 95% CI 0.090-1.00; PsA vs. controls 95% CI 0.08-0.75).

In this multiethnic Brazilian population, both PsO and PsA were associated with higher CVR compared with controls. The frequency of high FRS was highest in the sixth decade of life for all three groups of participants. Annual assessment of patients with PD is necessary in order to prevent CVEs.