Psoriasis affects 3% of US population

Psoriasis, affecting 3% of the U.S. adult population, remains one of the most common immune-mediated diseases, according to a study.

“Determining the prevalence of psoriasis is critical because such information has several important implications,” April W. Armstrong, MD, MPH, of the department of dermatology at University of Southern California Keck School of Medicine, and colleagues wrote.

Using data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, researchers identified 12,625 participants who responded to a survey question regarding psoriasis diagnosis between 2011 and 2014.

Psoriasis was identified in 3% of participants (95% CI, 2.6%-3.4%). Prevalence was similar between women and men, with 3.2% of women (95% CI, 2.6%-3.8%) and 2.8% of men (95% CI, 2.4%-3.3%) responding they had received a psoriasis diagnosis.

White individuals had the highest prevalence of psoriasis at 3.6% (95% CI, 2.9%-4.2%), and Black individuals had the lowest prevalence at 1.5% (95% CI, 1%-2%). After adjusting for age, sex, education, income, marital status and insurance status, white individuals were almost twice as likely to have psoriasis than non-white individuals (OR, 1.92; 95% CI, 1.28-2.88).

“These prevalence data are foundational to determining the burden of psoriasis and raising awareness of associated comorbidities,” the authors wrote. “In addition, these data may help inform future epidemiologic research, clinician and patient education, and health policies to improve the lives of patients with psoriasis.”