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Risk for aortic aneurysm increases with psoriasis severity

Patients with a higher psoriasis severity have a corresponding higher risk for aortic aneurysm that is separate from established cardiovascular risk aspects, according to recent study findings.

“Previous research discovered diffusely increased vascular inflammation in each aorta segment of patients with psoriasis, which remained significant after adjusting for established cardiovascular risk factors and for [BMI],” Hsien-Yi Chiu, MD, from the department of dermatology at the National Taiwan University Hospital, and colleagues wrote. “Although several risk factors associated with aortic aneurysm are more prevalent in patients with psoriasis, because of shared inflammatory pathogenesis, data on aortic comorbidity in such patients are scarce.”

Chiu and colleagues assessed the risk for aortic aneurysm among patients with psoriasis in a large, nationally representative, population-based cohort of predominantly Chinese patients from Taiwan.

They identified 34,301 patients with psoriasis in the Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database from 2004 to 2006 and matched 137,204 control subjects without psoriasis by age and sex from the Taiwan Longitudinal Health Insurance Database 2000. The patients and matched controls were followed for 5 years.

Patients with psoriasis were at increased risk overall for aortic aneurysm after adjusting for medical history and medication use (adjusted HR = 1.8; 95% confidence interval 1.25-2.61). The risk increased with the severity of psoriasis. Classified by sex and age, the increased risk for aortic aneurysm was higher for men compared with women (adjusted HR = 1.84 vs. 1.56), and for patients aged younger than 50 years compared with older patients (adjusted HR = 2.81 vs. 1.64).

“We found patients with psoriasis to have relatively higher risk for [aortic aneurysm], even after adjustment, suggesting the involvement of other factors that are intrinsically linked to psoriasis and independent from established cardiovascular risk factors,” Chiu and colleagues conclude. “These findings suggest that patients with psoriasis, especially younger males and those with severe psoriasis, should be screened more closely for [aortic aneurysm] — this may expedite detection and intervention, thereby reducing the significant mortality in [aortic aneurysm].”–by Savannah Demko

Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.