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Psoriasis linked to heart disease

 Psoriasis sufferers face a much higher than average chance of dying of heart disease, a new study has revealed.

The research, shows a dramatic rise in risk among the younger and more severely affected victims.

Those under 40 are 162 per cent more likely than average to die of a condition associated with heart disease, while the risk is 50 per cent greater on average for all those diagnosed with psoriasis.

Read Sarah Crampton's experience of the condition here.

The risk is 91 per cent greater for severe psoriasis sufferers aged 40-59 and 37 per cent greater for those over 60.

The findings have implications not only for the one in 50 people in the UK who suffer from the debilitating skin condition, but also for their closest blood relatives.

For even if they show no signs of psoriasis, the genetic link may put them in line for heart disease.

Health lifestyle can reduce heart risk

The research from the Karolinska Institute in Sweden has found that severe sufferers, especially younger patients, have worryingly high levels of blood cholesterol, one of the chief indicators of heart disease.

However, if psoriasis sufferers adopt a healthy diet and lifestyle, their chances of developing heart disease will be considerably reduced.

Professor Mona Stahle, Chair of the Department of Medicine at the Karolinska Institute, who led the research, says: "The risk is comparable to that faced by diabetes patients.

"The figures are likely to be far higher when we think of cardiovascular disease rather than death."

Professor Stahle's team is also engaged in a study of 600 people in the early stages of the disease. Their blood fat readings showed high cholesterol counts.

"We were surprised to find this at the onset of the disease," she said.

"It had been thought that the link between high cholesterol and psoriasis was due to the treatment of the disease and the increasing age of patients."

Call to move psoriasis from cosmetic to serious disease

To coincide with World Psoriasis Day on October 29, the IFPA (International Federation of Psoriasis Associations) is calling for the World Health Organisation to put psoriasis on its list of serious rather than cosmetic diseases. The Swedish study adds weight to the request.

Psoriasis sufferers not only have to deal with a painful condition and sometimes ostracism, but also run the risk of organ failure, diabetes, an associated arthritic condition (psoriatic arthritis) and psychological upset, which has led to a higher than average suicide rate.

But Professor Stahle says sufferers can reduce the risk of heart disease by making lifestyle changes.

"Those with severe psoriasis, and their close relatives, should have regular cholesterol checks and should take measures to reduce their count if it is high," she says.

She recommends they quit smoking and excessive drinking and adopt a healthy diet - which could not only cut the risk of heart disease but could also alleviate the symptoms of psoriasis.

This is borne out by studies that have shown psoriasis is less common among Japanese, Eskimos, Aboriginal Australian, West Africans and South American Indians, and more prevalent in the UK, Europe and North America.

This may be partly due to genetic factors and the healthier diet of ethnic groups such as Eskimos, Japanese and West Africans, who eat more foods containing the essential fatty acids omega-3 and omega-6.

Professor Stahle cannot say why an unhealthy lifestyle is more common among psoriasis sufferers, but agrees that the psychological stresses of the condition may be at the root.

New hope to catch skin disease early

Professor Stahle puts the genetic contribution at between 60 and 90 per cent. The study may pave the way for genetic profiling of psoriasis but this is some way in the future.

There is hope, however, that within five to ten years these genes may be identified, allowing for screening in the womb and more aggressive treatment early on to limit the spread of the disease.

Another major finding is that joint problems are reported much earlier in the progress of the disease than previously thought.

Early diagnosis and treatment could prevent irreversible deterioration of the joints, which leaves some sufferers immobile.