As common as Psoriasis is, the comorbidities associated with Psoriasis are often overlooked by patients and sometimes their physicians. As a part of their Psoriasis comorbidities series, Delaney Drew, and Kristi Hawley, DO have been publishing monthly articles to better identify, understand, and associate these issues.
In part 2 published in October, mental health comes into focus. A comorbidity that can be both difficult to diagnose and associate with Psoriasis that is far too common with those suffering from the disease. With shared mechanisms in pathogeneses of Psoriasis and depression and an association with an increased risk of anxiety, low self-esteem, stress, and more, a deeper understanding of this comorbidity and how to screen for mental health risks is necessary.
In this article a few key takeaways are discussed including:
- Psoriasis is a multifactorial systemic disease that affects 1% to 3% of the global population.
- Psoriasis has been associated with several mental health adverse effects, including increased risk of anxiety, depression, low self-esteem, alexithymia (difficulty identifying or expressing emotions), stress, self-harm, and suicidality.
- Patients with psoriasis have an elevated risk of suicidal ideation and behavior.
- Shared mechanisms in the pathogeneses of psoriasis and depression include an increase in circulating inflammatory cytokines TNF- , IL-1 , IL-2 , INF – , IL – 6 , IL – 17 IL – 13 and brain-derived neuropathic factor which plays a role in neuropathic and mental health disorders.
- Managing all comorbidities associated with psoriasis can constitute a considerable task for the clinician. The use of screening tools may help discover patients in need of referral to psychotherapy and other specialties or further investigation.
To explore this connection further, please read the full article on The Dermatologist linked below: