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Ontario psoriasis, PsA prevalence on the rise
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Incidence rates and prevalence of psoriatic arthritis and psoriasis in Ontario, Canada, have gradually increased throughout the past decade, and are now similar to those observed in Europe and the United States, according to findings published in Arthritis Care & Research.
“Studying trends in the prevalence of psoriatic disease is important for understanding and projecting the burden of disease,” Lihi Eder, MD, PhD, of the University of Toronto and Women’s College Hospital, and colleagues wrote. “Better knowledge of the epidemiology of psoriatic disease could improve health care planning and resource use.”
To estimate the prevalence and incidence rates of psoriasis and PsA, as well as temporal trends, among the population in Ontario, the researchers conducted a population-based study of province-wide health administrative databases, including the Ontario Health Insurance Plan claims history database, from 2000 to 2015. Using this data, they computed the cumulative prevalence and incidence rates — both crude and standardized by age and sex — of psoriasis and PsA during that time.
The researchers identified patients with psoriasis has having at least one diagnosis in the hospital records, or at least two diagnostic codes ever issued by any physician. PsA was defined as at least one diagnosis in the hospital records, or a combination of at least one diagnosis ever issued by any physicians and at least two diagnoses of spondyloarthritis ever recorded with at least one assigned by a rheumatologist or internal medicine specialist.
According to the researchers, out of a total of 10,774,802 individuals aged 20 years or older residing in Ontario in 2015, there were 273,238 patients with psoriasis and 18,655 with PsA, corresponding to a cumulative prevalence of 2.54% and 0.17%, respectively. Similar estimates were reached after correcting for imperfect sensitivity and specificity. Standardized for age and sex, the cumulative prevalence of psoriasis increased from 1.74% in 2000 to 2.32% in 2015. For PsA, that figure increased from 0.09% in 2008 to 0.15% in 2015. Although annual incidence rates for psoriasis decreased between 2008 and 2015, those for PsA were relatively stable, the researchers wrote.
“The cumulative prevalence of both PsA and psoriasis has gradually increased over the past decade, while at the same time global incidence rates of both have either remained stable or slightly decreased,” Eder and colleagues wrote. “Our estimated prevalence of psoriasis in Ontario (2.54%) falls well within the prevalence range of physician-confirmed diagnosis of psoriasis reported from other population-based studies from Northern European countries of 1.3% to 2.84% and U.S. studies showing a prevalence of 0.5% to 3.1%. Similarly, the prevalence of PsA (0.17%) was similar to previous reports of physician confirmed diagnosis of PsA from the U.S. and Northern European countries.” – by Jason Laday
Disclosure: Eder reports support from a new Investigator Salary Award from the Arthritis Society. Please see the study for all other authors’ relevant financial disclosures.
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