MedWire News: People with the skin condition psoriasis are more likely to develop cardiovascular disease and suffer heart attacks than the general population, US researchers have found.

Results of a previous 'observational' study have suggested that psoriasis may be associated with an increased risk of heart attacks, possibly due to increased levels of inflammatory substances in their blood or genetic differences, explain Dr James Kaye, from Boston University School of Medicine in Massachusetts, and team.

To investigate further, the researchers studied the medical records of more than 44,000 UK patients with psoriasis and over 219,000 people without the skin condition.

Analysis revealed that patients with psoriasis were significantly more likely to have cardiovascular risk factors than the other participants.

Indeed, compared with patients without the skin condition, patients with psoriasis were 33% more likely to have diabetes, 9% more likely to have high blood pressure (hypertension), 18% more likely to be obese and 17% more likely to have high blood fat levels (hyperlipidaemia).

In line with these findings, the researchers also discovered that patients with psoriasis were 21% more likely to have suffered a heart attack, 20% more likely to have angina, 28% more likely to have heart disease and 12% more likely to have suffered a stroke than those of the same age without the skin condition.

"Risk factors for cardiovascular disease as well as myocardial infarction [heart attack] and other vascular diseases occur with higher incidence in patients with psoriasis than in the general population," Dr Kaye and team conclude in the British Journal of Dermatology.

They add: "Further work is needed to investigate whether these associations involve causal factors related to psoriasis or its treatment."