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Natural History of Psoriasis

Psoriasis is a chronic inflammatory skin disorder that has a hereditary basis for susceptibility. A variety of environmental triggering factors (e.g., trauma, infections, or medications), may contribute to development of psoriatic lesions in predisposed individuals.1612  Psoriasis manifests most frequently as symmetrically distributed, well-demarcated, red, raised, and scaly plaques that can involve any cutaneous surface. Psoriasis lesions can involve areas of skin ranging from small isolated regions to virtually the entire skin surface. The severity and location of psoriasis may depend on genetic and environmental factors and may vary over time.1576,  1577,  1578  Psoriasis may be seen as a disease with low morbidity. Recently, however, clinical studies have suggested there are considerable physical, social, and psychological burdens associated with this disease. These studies have reported stress and disruption in the daily activities of psoriatic patients.1579  The cumulative effects of psoriasis on patients can contribute to decrements in their self-esteem, in their daily activities, in their ability to build social relationships and to work. The American Academy of Dermatology recently published guidelines on the care and management of psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis. According to these guidelines, psoriasis can be as debilitating as other serious chronic illnesses, such as heart disease, cancer, diabetes, and depression. Psoriasis has been associated with a lack of self-esteem and self-consciousness that can lead to an increased prevalence of mood disorders and other psychosocial behaviors, such as smoking and alcohol overconsumption.11286  In addition, studies have shown that patients with psoriasis have a higher incidence of comorbid conditions, such as obesity, heart disease, diabetes mellitus, hypertension, and malignancy.1611,  1651,  1686,  11287  Psoriasis triggers in genetically predisposed individuals include external and systemic factors. External trigger factors include Köbner’s phenomenon, drug eruptions, and viral exanthems. Systemic triggers include infection, endocrine anomalies, psychogenic stress, and certain drugs.459,  460,  463,  464,  483,  485,  1579,  1580,  1581,  1584,  1585,  1586,  1587,  1590,  1592,  1593,  1594,  1595,  1596,  1598,  1604,  1605,  1606,  1607,  1608,  1611,  1612,  1650,  1652,  1664,  1658,  1659,  1685,  1686,  1693,  1695,  1696,  1707 

Content on this page was last reviewed on July 31, 2008.

Content on this page was last changed on March 17, 2009.

References:

459.  Hannuksela-Svahn A, Pukkala E, Läärä E, Poikolainen K, Karvonen J. Psoriasis, its treatment, and cancer in a cohort of Finnish patients. J Inv Dermatol. 2000;114(3):587-590.
460.  Tavani A, La Vecchia C, Franceschi S, Serraino D, Carbone A. Medical history and risk of Hodgkin’s and non-Hodgkin’s lymphomas. Eur J Cancer Prev. 2000;9(1):59-64.
463.  Gelfand JM, Berlin J, Van Voorhees A, Margolis DJ. Lymphoma rates are low but increased in patients with psoriasis: results from a population-based cohort study in the United Kingdom. Arch Dermatol. 2003;139(11):1425-1429.
464.  Zhang Y, Holford TR, Leaderer B, et al. Prior medical conditions and medication use and risk of non-Hodgkin lymphoma in Connecticut United States women. Cancer Causes Control. 2004;15(4):419-428.
483.  Frentz G, Olsen JH. Malignant tumors and psoriasis: a follow-up study. Br J Dermatol. 1999;140(2):237-242.
485.  Boffetta P, Gridley G, Lindelof B. Cancer risk in a population-based cohort of patients hospitalized for psoriasis in Sweden. J Invest Dermatol. 2001;117(6):1531-1537.
1576.  Nickoloff BJ, Nestle FO. Recent insights into the immunopathogenesis of psoriasis provide new therapeutic opportunities. J Clin Invest. 2004;113(12):1664-1675.
1577.  Gottlieb AB. Psoriasis: emerging therapeutic strategies. Nat Rev Drug Discov. 2005;4(1):19-34.
1578.  Lebwohl M. Psoriasis. Lancet. 2003;361(9364):1197-1204.
1579.  Mease PJ, Menter MA. Quality-of-life issues in psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis: outcome measures and therapies from a dermatological perspective. J Am Acad Dermatol. 2006;54(4):685-704.
1580.  Grob JJ, Revuz J, Ortonne JP, Auquier P, Lorette G. Comparative study of the impact of chronic urticaria, psoriasis and atopic dermatitis on the quality of life. Br J Dermatol. 2005;152(2):289-295.
1581.  Lundberg L, Johannesson M, Silverdahl M, Hermansson C, Lindberg M. Health-related quality of life in patients with psoriasis and atopic dermatitis measured with SF-36, DLQI and a subjective measure of disease activity. Acta Derm Venereol. 2000;80(6):430-434.
1584.  Gupta MA, Gupta AK, Watteel GN. Perceived deprivation of social touch in psoriasis is associated with greater psychologic morbidity: an index of the stigma experience in dermatologic disorders. Cutis . 1998;61(6):339-342.
1585.  Koo J. Population-based epidemiologic study of psoriasis with emphasis on quality of life assessment. Dermatol Clin. 1996;14(3):485-496.
1586.  Perrott SB, Murray AH, Lowe J, Mathieson CM. The psychosocial impact of psoriasis: physical severity, quality of life, and stigmatization. Physiol Behav. 2000;70(5):567-571.
1587.  Gupta MA, Gupta AK. Depression and suicidal ideation in dermatology patients with acne, alopecia areata, atopic dermatitis, and psoriasis. Br J Dermatol. 1998;139(5):846-850.
1590.  Ramsay B, O’Reagan M. A survey of the social and psychological effects of psoriasis. Br J Dermatol. 1988;118(2):195-201.
1592.  Monk BE, Neill SM. Alcohol consumption and psoriasis. Dermatologica. 1986;173(2):57-60.
1593.  Fortes C, Mastroeni S, Leffondré K, et al. Relationship between smoking and the clinical severity of psoriasis. Arch Dermatol. 2005;141(12):1580-1584.
1594.  Herron MD, Hinckley M, Hoffman MS, et al. Impact of obesity and smoking on psoriasis presentation and management. Arch Dermatol. 2005;141(12):1527-1534.
1595.  McGowan JW, Pearce DJ, Chen J, Richmond D, Balkrishnan R, Feldman SR. The skinny on psoriasis and obesity. Arch Dermatol. 2005;141(12):1601-1602.
1596.  Henseler T, Christophers E. Disease concomitance in psoriasis. J Am Acad Dermatol. 1995;32(6):982-986.
1598.  Margolis D, Bilker W, Hennessy S, Vittorio C, Santanna J, Strom BL. The risk of malignancy associated with psoriasis. Arch Dermatol. 2001;137(6):778-783.
1604.  Mallbris L, Akre O, Granath F, et al. Increased risk for cardiovascular mortality in psoriasis inpatients but not in outpatients. Eur J Epidemiol. 2004;19(3):225-230.
1605.  Finlay AY, Coles EC. The effect of severe psoriasis on the quality of life of 369 patients. Br J Dermatol. 1995;132(2):236-244.
1606.  Crown WH, Bresnahan BW, Orsini LS, Kennedy S, Leonardi C. The burden of illness associated with psoriasis: cost of treatment with systemic therapy and phototherapy in the US. Curr Med Res Opin. 2004;20(12):1929-1936.
1607.  Javitz HS, Ward MM, Farber E, et al. The direct cost of care for psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis in the United States. J Am Acad Dermatol. 2002;46(6):850-860.
1608.  Stern RS. Inpatient hospital care for psoriasis: a vanishing practice in the United States. J Am Acad Dermatol. 2003;49(3):445-450.
1611.  Gelfand JM, Shin DB, Neimann AL, et al. The risk of lymphoma in patients with psoriasis. J Invest Dermatol. 2006;126(10):2194-2201.
1612.  Bolognia JL, Jorizzo JL, Rapini RP. Dermatology . e-dition. Edinburgh: Mosby; 2003:125.
1650.  Vardy D, Besser A, Amir M, Gesthalter B, Biton A, Buskila D. Experiences of stigmatization play a role in mediating the impact of disease severity on quality of life in psoriasis patients. Br J Dermatol. 2002;147(4):736-742.
1651.  Rapp SR, Feldman SR, Exum ML, Fleischer AB Jr., Reboussin DM. Psoriasis causes as much disability as other major medical diseases. J Am Acad Dermatol. 1999;41(3 Pt 1):401-407.
1652.  Gupta MA, Schork NJ, Gupta AK, Kirkby S, Ellis CN. Suicidal ideation in psoriasis. Int J Dermatol. 1993;32(3):188-190.
1658.  Evers AWM, Lu Y, Duller P, van der Valk PGM, Kraaimaat FW, van de Kerkhof PCM. Common burden of chronic skin diseases? Contributors to psychological distress in adults with psoriasis and atopic dermatitis. Br J Dermatol. 2005;152(6):1275-1281.
1659.  Krueger G, Koo J, Lebwohl M, Menter A, Stern RS, Rolstad T. The impact of psoriasis on quality of life: results of a 1998 National Psoriasis Foundation patient-membership survey. Arch Dermatol. 2001;137(3):280-284.
1664.  Akay A, Pekcanlar A, Bozdag KE, Altintas L, Karaman A. Assessment of depression in subjects with psoriasis vulgaris and lichen planus. J Eur Acad Dermatol Venereol. 2002;16(4):347-352.
1685.  Feldman SR, Fleischer AB Jr., Reboussin DM, et al. The economic impact of psoriasis increases with psoriasis severity. J Am Acad Dermatol. 1997;37(4):564-569.
1686.  Gelfand JM, Neimann AL, Shin DB, Wang X, Margolis DJ, Troxel AB. Risk of myocardial infarction in patients with psoriasis. JAMA . 2006;296(14):1735-1741.
1693.  Ginsburg IH, Link BG. Psychosocial consequences of rejection and stigma feelings in psoriasis patients. Int J Dermatol . 1993;32(8):587-591.
1695.  Gupta MA, Gupta AK. Psoriasis and sex: a study of moderately to severely affected patients. Int J Dermatol . 1997;36(4):259-262.
1696.  Poikolainen K, Karvonen J, Pukkala E. Excess mortality related to alcohol and smoking among hospital-treated patients with psoriasis. Arch Dermatol. 1999;135(12):1490-1493.
1707.  Kimball AB, Jacobson C, Weiss S, Vreeland MG, Wu Y. The psychosocial burden of psoriasis. Am J Clin Dermatol. 2005;6(6):383-392.
11286.  Menter A, Gottlieb A, Feldman SR, et al. Guidelines of care for the management of psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis: Section 1. Overview of psoriasis and guidelines of care for the treatment of psoriasis with biologics. J Am Acad Dermatol . 2008;58(5):826-850.
11287.  Menter A, Gottlieb A, Feldman SR, et al. Guidelines of care for the management of psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis: Section 1. Overview of psoriasis and guidelines of care for the treatment of psoriasis with biologics. J Am Acad Dermatol . 2008;58(5):826-850.

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