The psoriasis area and severity index is an independent risk factor for cardiovascular events: A prospective register

A Svedbom1,2, M Ståhle1,2

  • 1Department of Medicine, Division of Dermatology and Venereology, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.

Insights

Psoriasis disease activity, measured by the Psoriasis Area and Severity Index (PASI), independently predicts future cardiovascular events in patients with moderate-to-severe psoriasis. Higher PASI scores indicate increased cardiovascular risk.

Area of Science:

  • Dermatology
  • Cardiology
  • Public Health

Background:

  • Systemic psoriasis treatments are linked to higher cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk.
  • Limited data exist on the association between psoriasis disease activity and future cardiovascular events.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To assess the relationship between the Psoriasis Area and Severity Index (PASI) and cardiovascular events.
  • To determine if PASI can identify patients at increased CVD risk.

Main Methods:

  • Linked prospective data on PASI and CVD risk factors with administrative hospitalization and death records.
  • Utilized Cox proportional hazard models with time-varying covariates for PASI and Framingham 10-year cardiovascular risk.

Main Results:

  • A total of 767 patients and 6264 PASI scores were analyzed.
  • Each one-point increase in PASI was associated with a 4% increased hazard of cardiovascular events (HR 1.04, 95% CI: 1.01-1.07), after adjusting for CVD risk factors.
  • Findings remained significant in sensitivity analyses.

Conclusions:

  • The Psoriasis Area and Severity Index (PASI) serves as an independent predictor of future cardiovascular events.
  • Clinical disease activity in psoriasis is a modifiable risk factor for cardiovascular events.
Abstract

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