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The Goeckerman Regimen for the Treatment of Moderate to Severe Psoriasis

The Goeckerman Regimen for the Treatment of Moderate to Severe Psoriasis

Published on: July 11, 2013

Prevalence and Trends in Systemic Treatment for Pediatric Psoriasis in the USA between 2015 and 2021

Anna Ramond¹, Theresa Rosario-Jansen², Xinyu Yang³

¹UCB, Slough, UK.

Dermatology and Therapy

|September 26, 2025

Insights

Pediatric psoriasis prevalence in the US remains low, but treatment has shifted. Biologics, particularly interleukin inhibitors, are increasingly used for moderate to severe cases in children and adolescents.

Area of Science:

Dermatology
Pediatrics
Public Health

Background:

Pediatric psoriasis prevalence and treatment patterns have not been updated since 2015.
Biologics may have significantly altered the standard of care for pediatric psoriasis.
Understanding the current burden of pediatric psoriasis is crucial for disease awareness.

Purpose of the Study:

To provide an updated prevalence of pediatric psoriasis in the USA.
To analyze the current treatment landscape for pediatric psoriasis.
To highlight the need for improved disease awareness and management strategies.

Main Methods:

Retrospective cohort study using US claims data (July 2015-October 2021).
Prevalence estimation for overall and moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis in pediatric patients (aged 6-17) from 2016-2020.
Analysis of systemic/phototherapy treatment use (2017-2021) in moderate-to-severe pediatric psoriasis.

Main Results:

In 2020, overall pediatric psoriasis prevalence was 117.4/100,000; moderate-to-severe was 18.4/100,000.
Treatment shifted from non-biologic systemics and phototherapy towards biologics between 2017-2021.
Interleukin inhibitor use significantly increased, while TNF inhibitor use decreased; ustekinumab and ixekizumab showed notable growth.

Conclusions:

Psoriasis remains uncommon in US children, with 15.9% experiencing moderate-to-severe disease in 2020.
Treatment for moderate-to-severe pediatric psoriasis has transitioned.
The shift favors newer interleukin inhibitors over older non-biologic systemics and TNF inhibitors.

Read full analysis

Abstract

Introduction:

Biologics may have altered the standard of care for pediatric psoriasis, the prevalence of which has not been studied since 2015. The objective of this study was to provide an update of the prevalence of and treatment landscape for pediatric psoriasis in the USA, highlighting the current burden of the condition and the need for improved disease awareness.

Methods:

In this retrospective cohort study, US claims data (July 2015 to October 2021) from the MarketScan^® database were used to estimate the prevalence of overall plaque psoriasis and moderate to severe plaque psoriasis in pediatric patients (aged 6-17 years) from 2016 to 2020. Systemic/phototherapy treatment use (per 100 patient-years [PY]) in moderate to severe pediatric patients was reported from 2017 to 2021.

Results:

A total of 8935 pediatric patients with psoriasis were included, of whom 1448 had moderate to severe psoriasis. In 2020, the estimated overall pediatric psoriasis prevalence based on coding was 117.4/100,000, and it was 18.4/100,000 for moderate to severe psoriasis. Between 2017 and 2021, the use of non-biologic systemic treatments (2017: 36.3/100 PY; 2021: 14.1/100 PY) and phototherapy treatments (2017: 41.3/100 PY; 2021: 4.3/100 PY) decreased, while the use of biologics increased (2017: 41.5/100 PY; 2021: 56.4/100 PY). Interleukin inhibitor use increased (2017: 5.0/100 PY; 2021: 37.6/100 PY), while tumor necrosis factor (TNF) inhibitor use decreased (2017: 37.5/100 PY; 2021: 20.2/100 PY). Ustekinumab use increased the most (2017: 4.8/100 PY; 2021: 30.4/100 PY), followed by ixekizumab (2017: 0.2/100 PY; 2021: 7.2/100 PY).

Conclusions:

In 2020, psoriasis remained relatively uncommon among US children and adolescents, with 15.9% having moderate to severe psoriasis. Meanwhile, treatment for moderate to severe psoriasis shifted from older treatments, particularly non-biologic systemics and TNF inhibitors, toward newer, more efficacious interleukin inhibitors.

Keywords:

Adolescents Biologics Children Insurance claims data Pediatrics Prevalence Psoriasis Real-world evidence Systemic treatment

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