title: Co-morbidity and age-related prevalence of psoriasis: Analysis of health insurance data in Germany.
abstract: Epidemiological studies indicate an increased risk of co-morbidities and an association with other inflammatory diseases in psoriasis. However, most analyses have been performed on small samples of patients. The aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of co-morbidities in psoriasis based on a large set of health insurance data. The database of 1.3 million patients in a German nationwide statutory health insurance scheme was analysed. Data-sets of patients with confirmed psoriasis were extracted and analysed for co-morbidities. Of 1,344,071 subjects, 33,981 had a diagnosis of psoriasis (prevalence 2.5%). Metabolic syndrome was 2.9-fold more frequent among these patients. The most common diagnoses were arterial hypertension (35.6% in psoriasis vs. 20.6% in controls) and hyperlipidaemia (29.9% vs. 17.1%). The frequencies of rheumatoid arthritis (prevalence ratio (PR) 3.8), Crohn's disease (PR 2.1) and ulcerative colitis (PR 2.0) were also increased among patients with psoriasis. In conclusion, psoriasis is associated with significant co-morbidities that imply an elevated risk of severe complications.
authors.affiliation: German Center for Health Services Research in Dermatology CVderm, University Clinics of Hamburg-Eppendorf, Germany. m.augustin@uke.de
authors.forename: Matthias
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Augustin
authors.forename: Kristian
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Reich
authors.forename: Gerd
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Glaeske
authors.forename: Ines
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Schaefer
authors.forename: Marc
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Radtke
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D017677:Age Distribution; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001172:Arthritis, Rheumatoid / Q000453:epidemiology; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003093:Colitis, Ulcerative / Q000453:epidemiology; D015897:Comorbidity; D003424:Crohn Disease / Q000453:epidemiology; D005858:Germany / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D006949:Hyperlipidemias / Q000453:epidemiology; D006973:Hypertension / Q000453:epidemiology; D007348:Insurance, Health / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D024821:Metabolic Syndrome / Q000453:epidemiology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D015995:Prevalence; D011565:Psoriasis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D055815:Young Adult