Study Links Psoriasis Severity to Increased Heart Disease Risk

Key Takeaways

• PASI scores correlate with GlycA levels, a biomarker of systemic inflammation.
• GlycA levels are linked to noncalcified coronary burden and cardiovascular events.
• the link between psoriasis severity and cardiovascular risk is partially explained by systemic inflammation.

Psoriasis severity is associated with increased cardiovascular risk, according to new research, with systemic inflammation functioning as a key mediator.

Data from two cohorts—the Psoriasis Atherosclerosis and Cardiometabolic Disease Initiative (PACI) and the Stockholm Psoriasis Cohort (SPC)—were analyzed to explore the relationship between psoriatic skin disease severity, systemic inflammation, and cardiovascular disease (CVD). Systemic inflammation was assessed using GlycA, a biomarker linked to acute-phase proteins. The study included 260 patients from the PACI cohort (median age, 51 years), and 509 patients from the SPC cohort (median age, 43 years).

According to the analysis results, there were significant associations between PASI scores and GlycA levels, and between GlycA levels and cardiovascular outcomes. Direct (through GlycA) effects of PASI on noncalified coronary burden were estimated at 0.94 (95% CI, 0.26 to 1.74) and 0.19 (95% CI, 0.02 to 0.47), respectively. The indirect effects of PASI on noncalcified coronary burden and cardiovascular events were estimated at 0.19 and 1.16, respectively. Systemic inflammation partially explained the link between PASI scores and cardiovascular outcomes, according to the researchers. 

"In this study, skin disease severity measured using PASI was associated with systemic inflammation, and both PASI and systemic inflammation, measured using GlycA levels, were associated with CVD," the authors wrote in their study. "The association between PASI and CVD may be mediated by systemic inflammation."

Source: Svedbom A, et al. JAMA Dermatology. 2024. Doi:10.1001/jamadermatol.2024.4433