Moderate-to-severe psoriasis tied to lower fertility rates in women

Patients with moderate-to-severe psoriasis have lower fertility rates than women without psoriasis, according to a study published online June 7 in JAMA Dermatology.

Teng-Chou Chen, Ph.D., from the School of Health Sciences at the University of Manchester in the United Kingdom, and colleagues used data from 63,681 patients with psoriasis and 318,405 matched controls to assess differences in fertility rates and obstetric outcomes.

The researchers found lower fertility rates (rate ratio, 0.75) among patients with moderate-to-severe psoriasis. Pregnancies in patients with psoriasis had a higher risk for loss (odds ratio, 1.06) compared with pregnancies in matched controls without psoriasis. The two groups were similar with respect to the risks for antenatal hemorrhage, preeclampsia, and gestational diabetes.

"In this cohort study, patients with moderate-to-severe psoriasis had a lower fertility rate, and the risk of pregnancy loss was higher than in matched comparators without psoriasis," the authors write. "Future research should identify the mechanism of increased risk of pregnancy loss among patients with psoriasis."

Several authors disclosed financial ties to the pharmaceutical industry.