A new report calls for the creation of a web-based Global Psoriasis Atlas (GPA) database that will document the prevalence and incidence of psoriasis worldwide.

The report, entitled "Global State of Psoriasis Epidemiology: A Workshop Report," appears in the British Journal of Dermatology and is based on a workshop held by the International Psoriasis Council (IPC).

The project's first phase, which will begin this year, will be to comprehensively review current psoriasis literature and gather data on psoriasis from as many countries as possible. Once the database is established, the project's second phase will be to establish a core set of rigorous methods for collecting data throughout the world.

Ultimately, the GPA is expected to spur improvement in, and equality of, health care planning for psoriasis in every country.

"The data collected by the GPA will demonstrate to health care providers and policymakers around the world that psoriasis is not an inconsequential condition," says report author Professor Christopher Griffiths of the University of Manchester in United Kingdom.  "The GPA will be a resource that will help improve treatment and patients' access to care worldwide and to recognize psoriasis as a health care priority."

The IPC has joined with the International League of Dermatological Societies (ILDS) and the International Federation of Psoriasis Associations (IFPA)  to develop the GPA.

PHOTO CAPTION: Paper authors (Back Left to Right) Luigi Naldi, Chris Griffiths, Carsten Flohr, Darren Ashcroft, (Front) Matthias Augustin, and Tamar Nijsten at the conclusion of the symposium, "The Epidemiology of Psoriasis: Towards a Global Psoriasis Atlas," held during the European Society for Dermatological Research (ESDR) meeting in Rotterdam, the Netherlands.

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