Psoriasis Patients Show Significant Link to Metabolic Syndrome in Indian Study

A hospital-based cross-sectional study from India has found that patients with chronic plaque psoriasis show a significant association with metabolic syndrome, highlighting the importance of routine metabolic screening in dermatology practice.

Published in Cureus, the study enrolled 43 patients with histopathologically confirmed chronic plaque psoriasis between January 2022 and June 2023 at Smt. B. K. Shah Medical Institute and Research Centre, Gujarat. Metabolic syndrome was diagnosed using National Cholesterol Education Program Adult Treatment Panel III (NCEP ATP III) criteria. Six patients (14%) met criteria for metabolic syndrome, with a mean age of 47.8 years and an 83% male predominance.

Although Psoriasis Area and Severity Index (PASI) scores were not significantly higher among metabolic syndrome patients, moderate body surface area (BSA) involvement (3% to 10%) was significantly more common in the metabolic syndrome group compared with other patients (66.7% vs. primarily <3%; P = .036). Patients with metabolic syndrome also demonstrated significantly higher weight, body mass index, waist circumference, and blood pressure values (all P < .05).

Biochemical assessments showed that metabolic syndrome patients had significantly elevated random blood glucose, total cholesterol, triglycerides, very low-density lipoprotein (VLDL), and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) levels, as well as significantly lower high-density lipoprotein (HDL) compared to non-metabolic syndrome patients (all P < .05).

“The study highlights a significant association between chronic plaque psoriasis and (metabolic syndrome), reinforcing the need for early screening and integrated management of metabolic risk factors in psoriatic patients,” the authors wrote. “A significant proportion of patients with chronic plaque psoriasis exhibit features of (metabolic syndrome), even in the absence of clinically severe disease.”