Women with Psoriasis Have Higher Diabetes, High Blood Pressure Risk

In the meantime, people with psoriasis should take heart; there are many ways to reduce the risk of cardiovascular problems often associated with diabetes and high blood pressure, Dr. Qureshi adds. “If you have psoriasis, you should start thinking about risk factors that impact your heart. If you are overweight, lose weight, go for nutritional counseling and/or increase your physical activity and if you smoke, go for smoking cessation counseling.”

In an accompanying editorial, William H. Eaglestein, MD, of Stiefel Laboratories in Palo Alto, Calif. and Jeffrey P. Callen, MD, of the University of Louisville in Kentucky, point out that this is not the first time that psoriasis and diabetes have been linked—but it is the first prospective study. Prospective studies are considered to be a good way to establish health risks because they follow a group of people over time.

Neil Sadick, MD, a New York City–based dermatologist and clinical professor of dermatology at Weill Cornell Medical College, says that psoriasis should raise red flags suggesting a patient could be at risk for other diseases such as diabetes.

“If you have psoriasis, we need to be sure that you don’t have any risk factors for heart disease such as diabetes or high blood pressure,” he says. “If you are diagnosed with psoriasis, get a good general examination from your internist and make sure to tell him or her if you have a family history of any of these conditions.”

Although there is no proof that aggressively treating psoriasis will mitigate any of these risks, “I would want to really keep the psoriasis under good control and treat or prevent any heart disease risk factors that occur.”

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