Psoriasis tied to higher Alzheimer disease risk
(HealthDay)—The incidence of Alzheimer disease (AD) is significantly higher in patients with psoriasis versus individuals without psoriasis, according to a Korean study published online April 15 in Scientific Reports.
Miri Kim, from the Catholic University of Korea in Seoul, and colleagues used data from the Korean National Health Insurance System to identify 535,927 individuals with psoriasis and 2,679,635 age- and sex-matched controls without psoriasis who underwent at least three health examinations between 2008 and 2014. Risk for AD was assessed in the two groups.
The researchers found that during a median follow-up of 3.35 years, there were 50,209 cases of AD (1.87 percent) in controls versus 11,311 cases (2.11 percent) in patients with psoriasis. Patients with psoriasis showed a significantly increased risk for AD (hazard ratio [HR], 1.09; P < 0.0001) versus controls without psoriasis in adjusted models. The risk for AD among patients with psoriasis was significantly increased in psoriasis patients not receiving systemic therapy compared with those receiving systemic therapy (HR, 1.10; 95 percent confidence interval [CI], 1.08 to 1.12 versus HR, 0.99; 95 percent CI, 0.90 to 1.09; P < 0.0001).
"These results indicate that chronic inflammatory conditions in psoriasis may have an important impact on the nervous system and thus in increasing the risk of developing AD," the authors write.
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