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Psoriasis - Causes

Description

An in-depth report on the causes, diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of psoriasis.

Risk Factors:

Risk factors for psoriasis include:

Age under 20. About 40% of people develop the condition before age 20. Psoriasis (most often plaque psoriasis) can even occur in infants.
Climate. Some studies have found that the disorder develops earlier and more frequently in colder climates. For example, psoriasis occurs more often in African-Americans and in Caucasians who live in colder climates than in people of any ethnicity who live in Africa.
Ethnicity. Psoriasis is uncommon in Native Americans of either North or South American descent.
Family history of the disease. About 35% of those with psoriasis have one or more family members with the disorder.
Male gender. Some studies have indicated that more men than women have psoriasis.

Resources

www.psoriasis.org -- National Psoriasis Foundation
www.aad.org -- American Academy of Dermatology
www.niams.nih.gov -- National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases
www.clinicaltrials.gov -- Find clinical trials

References

Chen YJ, Wu CY, Shen JL, Chu SY, Chen CK, Chang YT, Chen CM. Psoriasis independently associated with hyperleptinemia contributing to metabolic syndrome. Arch Derm. 2008;144:1571-1575.

Gelfand JM, Neimann AL, Shin DB, et al. Risk of myocardial infarction in patients with psoriasis. JAMA. 2006 Oct 11;296(14):1735-41.

Kurd SK, Gelfand JM. The prevalence of previously diagnosed and undiagnosed psoriasis in US adults: Results from NHANES 2003-2004. J Am Acad Dermatol. 2008 [Epub ahead of print].

Leonardi CL, Kimball AB, Papp KA, Yeilding N, Guzzo C, Wang Y, et al. Efficacy and safety of ustekinumab, a human interleukin-12/23 monoclonal antibody, in patients with psoriasis: 76-week results from a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial (PHOENIX 1). Lancet. 2008;371:1665-1674.

Liu Y, Helms C, Liao W, Zaba LC, Duan S, Gardner J, et al. A genome-wide association study of psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis identifies new disease loci. PLoS Genet. 2008;4(3):e1000041.

Menter A, Gottlieb A, Feldman SR, Voorhees ASV, Leonardi CL, Gordon KB, et al. Guidelines for the management of psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis. J Am Acad Dermatol. 2008;5:826-850.

Menter A, Griffiths CE. Current and future management of psoriasis. Lancet. 2007;370:272-284.

Paller AS, Siegfried EC, Langley RG, Gottlieb AB, Pariser D, Landells I, et al. Etanercept treatment for children and adolescents with plaque psoriasis. N Engl J Med. 2008;358:241-251.

Papp K, Bissonnette R, Rosoph L, Wasel N, Lynde CW, Searles G, et al. Efficacy of ISA247 in plaque psoriasis: a randomized multicentre, double-blind, placebo-controlled phase III study. Lancet. 2008;371:1337-1342.

Stern RS. Psoralen and ultraviolet A light therapy for psoriasis. N Engl J Med. 2007;357:682-690.

U.S. Food and Drug Administration. CDER Drug and Biologic Approvals for Calendar Year 2006 -- Updated through August 31, 2006. Last accessed on 15 October, 2006.

Weatherhead S, Robson SC, Reynolds NJ. Management of psoriasis in pregnancy. BMJ. 2007;334:1218-1220.

Reviewed last on: 4/10/2009
A.D.A.M. Editorial Team: David Zieve, MD, MHA, Greg Juhn, MTPW, David R. Eltz. Previously reviewed by Harvey Simon, MD, Editor-in-Chief, Associate Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School (1/13/2009).

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