WebMD Medical News Brenda Goodman, MA Laura J. Martin, MD Dec.
20, 2010 -- Having psoriasis appears to double the risk that a
person will also have a dangerous clustering of risk factors for
heart disease and diabetes known as metabolic syndrome, a new
study shows. Previous research has found patients with psoriasis
to be at higher risk for getting diabetes and high blood
pressure, but the new study, which is in the Archives of
Dermatology, is one of the first to document the broader
complement of cardiovascular risks associated with the disease.
“It is more than skin deep,” says Abrar Qureshi, MD, MPH, co-
author of the paper and vice chairman of the department of
dermatology at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston. “We like
to tell patients that psoriasis is a systemic disease. The risk
for metabolic syndrome is high.” Psoriasis is an autoimmune
disease in which the body overproduces skin cells, causing a
thick, scaly, red rash to appear on the palms, soles of the
feet, elbows, scalp, or lower back. It is