Psoriasis patients from Taiwan were shown to be in greater danger of developing gouty arthritis, and the use of NSAIDs reduced it. This means that those who do not take NSAIDs may be more in danger of experiencing gout disease. The findings of the study are featured in the journal Clinical Epidemiology.
Besides the dermatology-related psoriasis implications, recent research has associated psoriasis with many systemic inflammatory diseases that could contribute to an increased possibility of morbidity.
An increase in the level of uric acid in the blood with age is characteristic of gout, which may come with comorbidities in patients. As gout becomes more common globally, researchers looked at the factors that increased the possibility of developing gouty arthritis in psoriasis patients and the association.
As for the authors in the study, there has been substantial progress in explaining psoriasis-related comorbidities. However, there have only been some large-scale pieces of research in this particular field. Gouty arthritis and psoriasis may coexist, but the connection between both conditions still lacks a clear definition.
Researchers did a nationwide study of one million patients in the National Health Insurance Research Database (NHIRD) with follow-up information for 14 years at the least. They used propensity score matching testing to compare sex, index year and age between two cohorts classified as non-psoriasis and psoriasis.
Both groups of patients were monitored until the beginning of gouty arthritis or the withdrawal from Taiwan’s insurance system, whichever happened first. Researchers also explored the incidence of many comorbidities, including hyperlipidemia, hypertension, obesity, diabetes, COPD, autoimmune disease, and liver disease.
Researchers added that rheumatoid arthritis, diffuse interstitial lung disease, and other polyarthropathy types as well as spondylopathies such as ankylosing spondylitis were added as autoimmune conditions. Further, NSAID use was considered for gout treatment as those drugs had been utilized for 30 days or more.
Up to 7,833 psoriasis patients were in the study and were matched with that many people with no psoriasis diagnoses. The mean age was comparable between the two groups. High blood pressure was found to be the most prevalent comorbidity among those psoriasis patients, and around 68% reported utilization of NSAIDs.
Gout risk factors were mentioned as male sex, older age, COPD, and hypertension. Further, a significantly reduced risk of gouty arthritis was demonstrated in psoriasis patients with NSAIDsversus psoriasis patients without those drugs.
Researchers concluded that preventing the coexistence of gouty arthritis and psoriasis requires more clinical vigilance. However, for them, the biology-related mechanisms underlying the association are not clear.
