A genetic link is one theory for the possible association, researchers say
THURSDAY, April 28, 2016 (HealthDay News) — Psoriasis may be linked to excess weight and type 2 diabetes, according to a study published online April 27 in JAMA Dermatology.
Ann Sophie Lønnberg, M.D., of the University of Copenhagen in Denmark, and colleagues collected data on nearly 33,588 twins, aged 20 to 71. Of these participants, 4.2 percent had psoriasis, 1.4 percent had type 2 diabetes, and 6.3 percent were obese. Among the 459 individuals with type 2 diabetes, 7.6 percent also had psoriasis. Among people without type 2 diabetes, 4.1 percent had psoriasis. Patients with psoriasis tended to weigh more than those without the skin condition, the researchers said. The risk for obesity was also greater among those with psoriasis — 11.6 percent of people with psoriasis were obese, but only 8.1 percent of non-obese study participants had psoriasis.
The researchers also looked at 720 twin pairs in which one twin had psoriasis and the other didn’t. The twins with psoriasis weighed more than the twins without psoriasis, and were also more likely to be obese, the researchers found. The prevalence of type 2 diabetes, however, was the same in twins with and without psoriasis, according to the report.
“This study determines the contribution of genetic and environmental factors to the interaction between obesity, type 2 diabetes mellitus, and psoriasis,” the authors write. “Psoriasis, type 2 diabetes mellitus, and obesity are also strongly associated in adults after taking key confounding factors, such as sex, age, and smoking, into account. Results indicate a common genetic etiology for psoriasis and obesity.”
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