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Patients With Psoriasis More Likely to Experience GI Symptoms

Issue: March 2018

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Steven Feldman

Patients with psoriasis are more likely to experience painful gastrointestinal symptoms, according to new research presented at the Crohn’s & Colitis Congress.

Steven Feldman, MD, PhD, of the department of dermatology at the Wake Forest School of Medicine, and colleagues undertook this study to determine how common these symptoms are and how physicians should treat patients with psoriasis.

“The skin lesions of moderate-to-severe psoriasis have a huge impact on patients’ lives, but there is growing awareness that psoriasis is a multi-system inflammatory disease associated with multiple internal comorbidities,” he told Healio Gastroenterology and Liver Disease in an email. “The genetic causes of psoriasis inflammation overlap with those of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), and patients with psoriasis are at higher risk of IBD.”

Feldman and colleagues conducted a survey of patients with moderate-to-severe psoriasis (n = 915) and a healthy control group (n = 1,411) to determine the prevalence of IBD in patients with psoriasis. They further categorized patients with psoriasis as those without any recent biologic therapy (PsO–) and those with biologic exposure within the last four months (PsO+).

Researchers evaluated the patients’ gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms, including frequency and severity, as well as their fecal calprotectin levels, and compared them across all groups. They found that GI symptoms and signs were more prevalent in the PsO– and PsO+ groups compared with the healthy control group. Symptoms like pain, bloating, fullness, and diarrhea were all more common in the psoriasis groups.

“Physicians who care for psoriasis may wish to screen for GI issues and refer to gastroenterologists when possible GI pathology is detected,” Feldman said. – by Alex Young

Reference:

Feldman S, et al. Abstract P210. Presented at: Crohn’s & Colitis Congress; Jan. 19-20, 2018; Las Vegas, NV.

Disclosures: Feldman reports he has received research, speaking and consulting support from Janssen, the sponsor of this project, as well as AbbVie, Celgene, Lilly, Novartis, and Ortho Dermatologics.