Prurigo Nodularis More Likely in African-Americans

THURSDAY, Sept. 13, 2018 (HealthDay News) — African-American patients are more likely to have prurigo nodularis (PN), which is associated with systemic, cardiovascular, and psychiatric comorbidities, according to a study recently published in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology.

Emily Boozalis, from the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore, and colleagues characterized the demographics and comorbidities associated with PN in a cross-sectional study of 909 patients seen within the Johns Hopkins Health System during a five-year period.

The researchers found that, compared with white patients, African-American patients were more likely to have PN (odds ratio, 3.4). There were significant associations for PN with a variety of systemic, cardiovascular, and psychiatric comorbidities compared with race-matched controls; these included chronic kidney disease, chronic hepatitis C, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, congestive heart failure, depression, and atopic dermatitis. The likelihood of having HIV was increased for black patients with PN versus race-matched controls with atopic dermatitis (odds ratio, 10.5) and compared with African-American patients with psoriasis (odds ratio, 8.0).

“PN disproportionately affects African-Americans and is associated with several systemic conditions, including HIV, chronic kidney disease, and diabetes,” the authors write.

Several authors disclosed financial ties to the biopharmaceutical industry.

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