Chronic Skin Disease Psoriasis Linked to Obesity and Diabetes

By Hira Bashir

New research, which involved twin pairs, reveals that inflammatory skin disease is associated with obesity and type 2 diabetes
Psoriasis is a chronic skin disease characterized by itchy, rough, red patches. The disease is persistent and long-lasting and typically affects knees, elbows, palms and sole of the feet. But a new research reveals an astonishing fact about the disease.
Danish researchers have found that the chronic skin condition is linked to obesity and type 2 diabetes. Though, the finding is not entirely new and many previous researches have shown a connection between the three conditions in the past but the new research adds more evidence to support the theory.
For the study, researchers have examined health records from more than 33,000 twins, of whom 4.2% were suffering from psoriasis, 1.4% had diabetes while 6.3% of the subjects were obese with a body mass index of 30 to 34. On average, BMI was 24.5.
Researchers have found that those who were diabetic, the prevalence of psoriasis was 7.6% compared to 4.1% among individuals without diabetes. The BMI of those individuals was also high who had both diabetes and psoriasis. The higher BMI increased the risk of obesity too.
There were 720 twin pairs where one had psoriasis and the other did not. Twins with psoriasis had higher BMI and a higher prevalence of diabetes compared to those who do not have the skin disease.
In the study, researchers have considered many key factors such as age, sex and smoking but they believe that similar genetic makeup could be an underlying factor behind the existence of three conditions.
“Psoriasis is a complex disorder,” said lead researcher Dr. Ann Sophie Lonnberg from the University of Copenhagen. “The genetic background of the disease and its much comorbidities (co-existing conditions) have not yet been fully uncovered.”
“The reason psoriasis and obesity are associated is not only due to a common lifestyle, but they are also associated due to common genes. It is important to treat psoriasis and obesity and diabetes, since they are risk factors for heart disease and could have serious effects on overall health.”

http://www.i4u.com/2016/05/109518/chronic-skin-disease-psoriasis-linked-obesity-and-diabetes