Women With Psoriasis, Has Increased Risk of Diabetes and Hypertension

Filed in archive Research on April 20, 2009

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Women with psoriasis has increased risk of diabetes and hypertension (high blood pressure) due to the systemic inflammation in psoriasis and its accompanying unhealthy lifestyle.

Such were the findings suggested by a report in the Archives of Dermatology, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. The said findings were the result of a study in US female nurses.

Of the women, 1,813 (2.3 percent) reported a diagnosis of psoriasis. A total of 1,560 (2 percent) developed diabetes and 15,724 (20 percent) developed hypertension. Women with psoriasis were 63 percent more likely to develop diabetes and 17 percent more likely to develop hypertension than women without psoriasis. These associations remained strong even after the researchers considered age, body mass index and smoking status.

The authors agreed that systemic inflammation in women with psoriasis is the underlying culprit in the association to diabetes and hypertension.