Psoriasis Is Not Associated with Atherosclerosis and Incident Cardiovascular Events: The Rotterdam Study

Emmilia Dowlatshahi, Maryam Kavousi, Tamar Nijsten, Arfan Ikram, Bert Hofman, OH Franco Duran, Marlies Wakkee

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleAcademicpeer-review

115 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Psoriasis has been suggested to be an independent risk factor for cardiovascular disease (CVD); however, available studies have shown inconsistent results. In this study, embedded within the population-based Rotterdam Study, we aimed to assess the association between psoriasis and cardiovascular outcomes. Adjusted means were calculated for subclinical atherosclerosis using general linear models. Using Cox regression, the hazards of cardiovascular events for psoriasis, as a time-dependent variable, were calculated. A total of 262 psoriasis (24% systemic/UV treatment) and 8,009 reference subjects were followed up for a mean of 11 years. Psoriasis patients were significantly younger, smoked more, and had higher diastolic blood pressure and body mass index levels. The adjusted carotid intima media thickness was 1.02 +/- 0.18 mm for psoriasis and 1.02 +/- 0.16 mm for reference subjects. Similarly, crude and adjusted ankle-brachial index, pulse-wave velocity, and coronary artery calcium scores did not differ between the two groups. The risk of incident CVD was not increased in psoriasis (adjusted hazard ratio 0.73, 95% confidence interval 0.50-1.06). The results were similar when coronary heart disease, stroke, and heart failure were analyzed separately. Psoriasis patients with predominantly mild disease from the general population are as likely to develop atherosclerosis and cardiovascular events as subjects without psoriasis.
Original languageUndefined/Unknown
Pages (from-to)2347-2354
Number of pages8
JournalJournal of Investigative Dermatology
Volume133
Issue number10
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2013

Research programs

  • EMC MM-03-61-05-A
  • EMC NIHES-01-64-01

Cite this