PSORIASIS MOVES UP ON THE PUBLIC HEALTH AGENDA
World leaders support patients’ long term beliefs: that psoriasis is more than just skin deep. During a recent meeting of the International Psoriasis Council (IPC) (a group of international leaders in dermatology) specialists from other disease areas such as heart disease and cancer were invited to take part in a review of all the evidence linking psoriasis with other health concerns. The results of this meeting are released in time for World Psoriasis Day, the 29th October.
Dr Strober from the New York University School of Medicine was at the meeting and he said: “Mounting data suggests that psoriasis is a component of an inflammatory state that nurtures significant co-morbidities.”
What this means is that there are links between psoriasis and other health issues previously not appreciated. These include diseases such as heart disease, obesity, depression, type II diabetes and others. The exact nature of those links and what can be done to reduce these risks is still to be determined.
In one of the more telling studies that were reviewed, it was found that someone with psoriasis has more chance of having a heart attack related to their psoriasis than people without psoriasis – a 1/400 to 1/600 greater chance per year.
In addition, as psoriasis has as big an effect on peoples’ quality of life as is found for diseases such as cancer and heart disease, the group recommended that psoriasis should have a greater standing on the public healthcare agenda.
So what does this mean for people with psoriasis?
Lars Ettarp, President of the International Federation of Psoriasis Associations (IFPA) and Chair of the World Psoriasis Day Steering Committee hopes that “Psoriasis will be accepted as a severe, systemic and non-contagious disease that impacts drastically on the patient’s life and the support of these world leading experts will help us to achieve this aim in order to ensure that people with psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis are given the best care and access to the most appropriate therapies in order that they may live their lives free from pain and social stigma.
People with psoriasis should consult with their doctors to identify whether they are likely to develop or have signs of any of the co-morbidities that the growing strength of evidence is linking to psoriasis.”
Professor Wolfram Sterry of Berlin (IPC Board Member) commented: “The patient with psoriasis has a very severe disease that changes his life completely, and so giving advice is not so easy because he has a severe burden to carry, but he could begin by getting advice from his doctor and by modifying personal dietary and lifestyle risk factors such as diet, drinking or smoking could possibly reduce the potential impact of many of the co-morbidities.”
For more information, please contact:
World Psoriasis Day is sponsored by:
World leaders support patients’ long term beliefs: that psoriasis is more than just skin deep. During a recent meeting of the International Psoriasis Council (IPC) (a group of international leaders in dermatology) specialists from other disease areas such as heart disease and cancer were invited to take part in a review of all the evidence linking psoriasis with other health concerns. The results of this meeting are released in time for World Psoriasis Day, the 29th October.
Dr Strober from the New York University School of Medicine was at the meeting and he said: “Mounting data suggests that psoriasis is a component of an inflammatory state that nurtures significant co-morbidities.”
What this means is that there are links between psoriasis and other health issues previously not appreciated. These include diseases such as heart disease, obesity, depression, type II diabetes and others. The exact nature of those links and what can be done to reduce these risks is still to be determined.
In one of the more telling studies that were reviewed, it was found that someone with psoriasis has more chance of having a heart attack related to their psoriasis than people without psoriasis – a 1/400 to 1/600 greater chance per year.
In addition, as psoriasis has as big an effect on peoples’ quality of life as is found for diseases such as cancer and heart disease, the group recommended that psoriasis should have a greater standing on the public healthcare agenda.
So what does this mean for people with psoriasis?
Lars Ettarp, President of the International Federation of Psoriasis Associations (IFPA) and Chair of the World Psoriasis Day Steering Committee hopes that “Psoriasis will be accepted as a severe, systemic and non-contagious disease that impacts drastically on the patient’s life and the support of these world leading experts will help us to achieve this aim in order to ensure that people with psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis are given the best care and access to the most appropriate therapies in order that they may live their lives free from pain and social stigma.
People with psoriasis should consult with their doctors to identify whether they are likely to develop or have signs of any of the co-morbidities that the growing strength of evidence is linking to psoriasis.”
Professor Wolfram Sterry of Berlin (IPC Board Member) commented: “The patient with psoriasis has a very severe disease that changes his life completely, and so giving advice is not so easy because he has a severe burden to carry, but he could begin by getting advice from his doctor and by modifying personal dietary and lifestyle risk factors such as diet, drinking or smoking could possibly reduce the potential impact of many of the co-morbidities.”
For more information, please contact:
| Lars Ettarp | WPD Secretariat |
| President of the IFPA and Chairman of World Psoriasis Day | Office: +44 (0)208 288 7840 |
| Email: [email protected] | |
| Direct: +46 8 6623924 | |
| Mobile: +46 70 859 2112 | |
| Email: [email protected] |
World Psoriasis Day is sponsored by: