Body mass index lower in patients with familial psoriasis

(HealthDay)—Familial psoriasis is not necessarily induced by obesity, according to a study recently published in the Journal of Dermatology.

Bolortuya Bayaraa, M.D., from Fukuoka University in Japan, and colleagues examined whether patients with familial psoriasis versus those without were obese at the onset of psoriasis. The analysis included 428 individuals (264 male; 164 female) with psoriasis identified from a registry of clinic patients; of these patients, 27 (15 male; 12 female) had familial psoriasis.

The researchers found that age at onset was younger for both men and women with familial psoriasis (34 and 40 years, respectively) compared with those with nonfamilial psoriasis (48 and 53 years, respectively). In an age- and sex-adjusted analysis, patients with familial psoriasis had a lower body mass index (22.0 kg/m²) versus those with nonfamilial psoriasis (23.2 kg/m²).

"Individuals with a family history of psoriasis should be considered to be at risk for developing the disease even if obesity is not present," the authors write.