ORIGINAL ARTICLE   

Italian Journal of Dermatology and Venereology 2021 April;156(2):226-30

DOI: 10.23736/S2784-8671.18.06200-4

Copyright © 2018 EDIZIONI MINERVA MEDICA

language: English

Moderate to severe psoriasis: a single-center analysis of gender prevalence

Giulia ODORICI ✉, Alessia PAGANELLI, Francesca PECCERILLO, Jole SERRA, Johanna CHESTER, Shaniko KALECI, Giovanni PELLACANI, Andrea CONTI

Unit of Dermatology, Department of Surgical, Medical, Dental and Morphological Sciences with Interest Transplant, Oncological and Regenerative Medicine, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Modena, Italy

BACKGROUND: Psoriasis is a chronic, relapsing disease and most epidemiological studies include selected patients undergoing systemic therapies only. Epidemiological data suggest that psoriasis affects 2-3% of the general population, and that men and women are equally affected. The objective was to identify differences in gender for disease severity, patient characteristics and comorbidities in patients with moderate to severe psoriasis, independent of therapy.
METHODS: A retrospective medical chart review of consecutive patients diagnosed with moderate-severe psoriasis at a single center between 2004 and 2017, with a complete set of medical records, was undertaken. Both univariate and multivariate regression analyses were performed. Statistical significance was defined as P<0.05.
RESULTS: The male-to-female ratio revealed a higher prevalence for male gender (2:1, P<0.05). Whilst no significant differences were found for most factors according to gender, age at first evaluation was significantly higher for women. Logistic regression analysis indicated that autoimmune/autoinflammatory diseases were more frequently observed in women, as well as phenotypes other than plaque psoriasis and hypertension. Inversely, dyslipidemia was more frequently associated with male gender.
CONCLUSIONS: Our results show that moderate-severe psoriasis is more common in men and suggests a differential gender distribution of some specific comorbidities in the setting of this disease.

KEY WORDS: Psoriasis; Epidemiology; Sex