Psoriasis Increases Risk of Hypertension: Study

People who have psoriasis are likely to develop hypertension, according to a study.

Psoriasis is a chronic skin condition accompanied by thick red scales and slivery patches on elbows, knees, scalp, lower back and palms. Experts from the University of Pennsylvania's Perelman Scholl of Medicine examined medical data of 9,000 patients with psoriasis and found a direct link between skin condition and high blood pressure. The blood pressure levels of individuals who developed uncontrolled hypertension measured at least 140/90. The risk rate increased with the severity of psoriasis. People whose 3 percent of skin surface was affected by allergic skin disease constituted the most vulnerable population, reports the Business Standard.

"Psoriasis is  an independent risk factor for a variety of comorbidities, putting patients suffering with this common skin disease at an increased risk for other conditions such as heart attack and stroke. nowing that psoriasis is tied to other health conditions, it's vital that we have a better understanding of the systemic effects it has on other areas of the body so that we can more closely monitor these patients and provide better and preventative care," said Junko Takeshita, study author and clinical instructor in the department of Dermatology at Penn Medicine, in a news release.

"To our knowledge, ours is the first study to evaluate the effect of objectively determined psoriasis severity on blood pressure control," she added.

According to the data by the American Academy of Dermatology, nearly 7.5 million Americans have psoriasis and average annual expenditure for treatment costs billions of dollars.  

More information is available online in the journal JAMA Dermatology.