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Risk Factors of Parkinson’s Disease in Patients With Psoriasis
In patients with psoriasis, systemic anti-inflammatory agents may diminish the risk of Parkinson’s disease (PD), a new study found. The nationwide population-based cohort study sought to determine the incidence rates and risk factors of PD in patients with psoriasis and included data from patients with psoriasis (n=548,327) and age- and sex-matched control subjects (n=2,741,635) without psoriasis. Researchers found:
- The incidence rates of PD per 1,000 person-years were 0.673 and 0.768 in the control and psoriasis groups, respectively.
- The psoriasis group demonstrated a significantly increased risk of developing PD.
- The risk of PD was significantly high among psoriasis patients not receiving therapy and low among those on systemic therapy.
Citation:
Lee JH, et al. The incidence rates and risk factors of Parkinson’s disease in patients with psoriasis: A nationwide population-based cohort study. [Published online ahead of print July 12, 2019]. J Am Acad Dermatol. doi:10.1016/j.jaad.2019.07.012.
There are several comorbidities with psoriasis including cardiovascular disease, malignancies, Crohn’s disease, and others. This report demonstrates a higher risk of Parkinson’s disease in patients with psoriasis which decreased with systemic therapy. However, other studies have either shown no association or an association between psoriasis and Parkinson’s disease, so the true incidence remains to be seen. Interestingly, proinflammatory cytokines such as tumor necrosis factor were found to be elevated in patients with Parkinson’s disease. The strengths of this study were the large population cohort but some of the limitations included the study not being retrospective. —Paul S. Yamauchi, MD, PhD; Clinical Assistant Professor of Dermatology David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA; Harbor-UCLA Medical Center Division of Dermatology; Adjunct Associate Professor John Wayne Cancer Institute.