Palmoplantar Plaque Psoriasis is Associated with Diabetes, Hypertension, Obesity, and Metabolic Syndrome-A Case-Control Study

Background: Palmoplantar plaque psoriasis is a regional variant of psoriasis, characterized by erythematous, indurated plaques with fissuring over palms and soles. Chronic plaque psoriasis is associated with various comorbidities such as obesity, diabetes mellitus, hypertension, dyslipidemia, metabolic syndrome, and cardiovascular disease. Body surface area involvement is an indicator of psoriasis severity, and most comorbidities are more strongly correlated with severe disease.

Objectives: To estimate the prevalence of metabolic comorbidities in palmoplantar plaque psoriasis.

Methods: It is a case-control study involving treatment naïve palmoplantar plaque psoriasis patients and age- and gender-matched healthy controls.

Results: The study included 100 cases and 100 controls. The mean age among cases and controls was 45.4 ± 11.1 and 43.9 ± 10.3 years, respectively (: 0.31). The gender ratio among cases and controls was 1.56 (61M: 39F) and 1.94 (66M: 34F), respectively. Comorbidities including metabolic syndrome (: 0.001), obesity (: 0.001), diabetes mellitus (: 0.001), and hypertension (: 0.001) were more common among cases as compared to controls. The odds of diabetes, metabolic syndrome, hypertension, and obesity in patients with palmoplantar psoriasis were 4.8 (95% CI 2.5-9.3), 3.7 (95% CI 2-6.9), 3.1 (95% CI 1.6-6), and 3.5 (95% CI 1.9-6.4), respectively.

Conclusion: In this study, we found that palmoplantar plaque psoriasis is associated with metabolic comorbidities. Primary care physicians should screen patients with palmoplantar psoriasis for these comorbidities.