Researchers Identify 2 Factors Associated With Delayed Transition to PsA

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Patients with severe psoriasis or a family history of psoriasis are more likely to have a delayed transition from psoriasis to psoriatic arthritis (PsA), according to a study released during the American College of Rheumatology’s (ACR) annual meeting, ACR Convergence.

“Whether this difference is secondary to earlier detection of psoriasis in patients with a family history of psoriasis and severe psoriasis or a true phenotypic difference will require further studies,” the researchers wrote.

The retrospective, population-based study involved a cohort of 157 adults with incident PsA from a geographically defined area. 

Aiming to better understand the natural history of PsA—which can precede, occur concurrently, or occur after the development of psoriasis—the researchers divided the study population into 2 groups: those with concurrent psoriasis and PsA onset within 1 year of each other, and those who had psoriasis for more than 1 year before PsA onset. Patients who developed psoriasis after PsA onset were excluded.

According to the study, 51% of patients had concurrent psoriasis and PsA onset, and 49% had psoriasis onset before PsA. 

Compared with patients who had concomitant diagnosis of psoriasis and PsA, patients who had more than 1 year between diagnoses had a 2.71 odds ratio (95% confidence interval [CI] 1.24-5.90) of having a family history of psoriasis and a 1.96 odds ratio (95% CI 1.26-3.06) of having severe arthritis.

“There were no statistically significant differences in demographic features, or any of the other psoriasis or PsA-related factors, between the 2 groups,” the researchers wrote. “Similarly, no difference in radiographic outcome was noted for the 2 groups.”

—Jolynn Tumolo

Reference:

Karmacharya P, Wright K, Achenbach SJ, et al. Delay in transition from psoriasis to psoriatic arthritis: a population based study. Study presented at: American College of Rheumatology Convergence 2020; November 5-9, 2020; Virtual. Accessed November 3, 2020. https://acrabstracts.org/abstract/delay-in-transition-from-psoriasis-to-psoriatic-arthritis-a-population-based-study/