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Recurrent tonsillitis linked with pediatric psoriasis

Recurrent tonsillitis during ages 10 to 11 years was associated with pediatric psoriasis, according to a population-based analysis published in Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology.

“Clinicians should promptly investigate the etiology of tonsillitis in children and adolescents who are at high risk of psoriasis, thereby facilitating early initiation of antibiotic therapy in those with streptococcal infection,” Jonathan Groot, MScPH, of the department of dermatology and allergy, Herlev and Gentofte Hospital, University of Copenhagen, Denmark, and colleagues wrote.

Researchers used data from the Danish National Birth Cohort, which enrolled pregnant women who were asked to participate in an 11-year follow-up questionnaire regarding their child’s health, including incidence of psoriasis and history of tonsillitis. From 2010 to 2014, researchers gained parental responses for 35,188 children with a mean age of 11.4 years.

At the 11-year follow-up, 395 children had psoriasis.

Children aged 6 to 18 months with psoriasis were not more likely to have tonsillitis during this time period (OR = 0.73; 95% CI, 0.47-1.14). However, recurrent tonsillitis in those aged 10 to 11 years was strongly associated with psoriasis (OR = 2.28; 95% CI, 1.17-4.48).

Only half of the parentally reported psoriasis diagnoses were clinically confirmed with dermatological examination, which represents a study limitation.

“The acknowledged relationship between tonsillitis and psoriasis in the general population may be explained by the previously reported twofold increased throat swab positivity for Streptococcus in psoriatic cases with the HLA-Cw*0602 allele compared to psoriatic cases without,” Groot and colleagues wrote. – by Abigail Sutton

Disclosures: Groot reports no relevant financial disclosures. Please see the study for all other authors’ relevant financial disclosures.