Psoriasis and Medical Ramifications: A Comprehensive Analysis Based on Observational Meta-analyses

Purpose: Based on a large number of systematic reviews and meta-analyses exploring the relationship between psoriasis and various health outcomes, we conducted an comprehensive analysis to assess the strength and evidence for the association between psoriasis and medical end-point ramifications in patients.

Methods: We searched related meta-analyses, investigating the links between psoriasis and medical ramifications from three databases. All summary effect sizes, 95% CIs, heterogeneity, and small-study effects in the included meta-analyses were recalculated. We assessed the methodological quality of included articles with the AMSTAR 2 tool and graded the epidemiological evidence. Subgroup analysis based on the severity of psoriasis and study design were also performed.

Results: A total of 38 articles comprising 85 unique meta-analyses were included in this study. Although 69 outcomes were statistically significant, only 8 outcomes (nonvascular dementia, ulcerative colitis, pediatric dyslipidemia, gestational diabetes, gestational hypertension, fracture, multiple sclerosis, and schizophrenia) showed a high quality of epidemiological evidence.

Conclusion: We found that psoriasis increased the risk of 69 health outcomes, and 8 outcomes were graded as high-quality evidence. No evidence was found that psoriasis was beneficial for any medical end point. However, to verify our results, more large-sample, multi-center prospective cohort studies are needed.