Metabolic Syndrome in Psoriasis and Psoriatic Arthritis in a Mixed Race Population: Comparison of Their Prevalences

There is a growing body of evidence suggesting the association between psoriasis (PsO) and psoriatic arthritis (PsA) separately with metabolic syndrome (MS) in different populations. The literature is relatively scarce in terms of comparing the prevalence of MS in PsO and PsA with controls without systemic inflammatory diseases.

We aimed to assess the prevalence of MS among patients with PsO, PsA, and a control group without systemic inflammatory disease, in addition to investigating the risks of MS occurrence and its different components in each group.

This is a cross-sectional case-control study with three groups of patients: PsO, PsA, and control. The diagnosis of MS was defined according to the modified 2009 NCTEP ATP III criteria. Patients underwent thorough physical examination and fasting blood samples.

A total of 195 patients were included in this analysis (PsO = 50; PsA = 64, and controls = 81). The prevalence of MS in the control, PsO, and PsA groups was 37%, 56%, and 57.8%, respectively (p < 0.001). Waist circumference (p = 0.013) and arterial hypertension (p < 0.001) were the most significant components of MS in patients with PsO and PsA. Multivariate analysis confirmed an independent risk of MS in women, elderly patients, obese patients, patients with hyperglycemia, and patients with psoriasis, especially PsA (OR = 6.2 [CI 95% 2.4-16.2], p < 0.001).

MS is more prevalent in patients with PsA, which can be determined by the increase in inflammatory pathways.