Hypertension With Psoriasis Tied to More Cardiac Interventions

FRIDAY, Jan. 4, 2019 (HealthDay News) — Psoriasis is associated with an increased risk for cardiovascular interventions in patients with hypertension, according to a study published in the December issue of The Journal of Dermatology.

Hsien-Yi Chiu, from National Taiwan University Hospital in Hsinchu, and colleagues used data from the Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database to assess whether patients with psoriasis and hypertension have more cardiovascular procedures and surgeries than patients with hypertension but without psoriasis. In total, 4,039 patients with psoriasis were matched in a 1-to-1 ratio by age and sex to patients without psoriasis.

The researchers found that during a mean follow-up of 5.62 years, psoriasis was associated with an increased risk for cardiovascular procedures and surgeries in patients with hypertension (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR], 1.28; 95 percent confidence interval, 1.07 to 1.53). The aHRs were higher for women versus men and for patients aged 50 to 64 years versus younger and older patients. Although not statistically significant, patients with severe psoriasis or psoriatic arthritis tended to have higher risks for cardiovascular procedures and surgeries versus patients with mild psoriasis (aHR, 1.22; 95 percent confidence interval, 0.98 to 1.51) or patients without psoriatic arthritis (aHR, 1.15; 95 percent confidence interval, 0.84 to 1.58).

“More intense assessments for cardiovascular interventions may be necessary in patients with concurrent hypertension and psoriasis than general hypertension patients,” the authors write.

Two authors disclosed financial ties to pharmaceutical companies.

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