That there is a positive correlation between psoriasis and depression has been known for some time. As a recent epidemiological study from Denmark shows, other mental disorders also have higher comorbidity rates in psoriasis sufferers than in the general population.
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Researchers at Aarhus University Hospital conducted a population-based case-control study with data from patients in the 1900 to 1995 cohorts who had been diagnosed with psoriasis at least twice between 1977 and 2012, each matched with 10 times the number of control subjects of the same sex and age. Patient and population registries were used as data sources. The cumulative annual incidence of the 13,675 identified psoriatic patients was 2.6%. Over a ten-year period, 4.9% develop a mental illness. Compared with the general population, psoriasis patients have a 75% higher risk of mental illness (hazard ratio HR 1.75; 95% confidence interval [KI] 1.62-1.89). In particular, the risk of bipolar disorder was found to be significantly increased: 2.33 (95% CI 1.59-3.41). However, an increased risk was also shown for other disorders from the psychiatric spectrum (personality disorder: 2.06 (95% CI 1.55-2.73); generalized anxiety disorder: 1.88 (95% CI 1.08-3.30); vascular dementia: 1.73 (95% CI 1.21-2.47); unipolar depression: 1.72 (95% CI 1.49-1.98; schizophrenia: 1.64 (95% CI 1.01-2.65). The researchers related the results to the patients’ level of education, showing that patients with shorter periods of schooling and further education had a higher risk of mental illness than those with higher levels of education.
Source: JAMA Dermatol 2019.
DOI: 10.1001/jamadermatol.2019.0039.
DERMATOLOGIE PRAXIS 2019; 29(4): 4 (published 8/26/19, ahead of print).
