Patients with Psoriasis Face Heightened Risk of Depression

Recent study results have suggested that patients with psoriasis are at higher risk of developing major depression than those without the inflammatory skin condition.

The study, published in JAMA Dermatology, analyzed the results of a health questionnaire designed to identify depression that was administered to 12,382 patients, 351 of whom had psoriasis. After adjusting the questionnaire results to account for comorbidities, the research team determined that 968 patients met the criteria for major depression, with 58 patients found to have both psoriasis and depression. Overall, the average patient questionnaire score for depression was higher among patients with a history of psoriasis than those without, pointing to an association between the 2 conditions.

The researchers did not observe any difference in major depression risk between patients with limited psoriasis and those with extensive psoriasis, indicating that the severity of the skin condition had no bearing on its potential impact on a patient’s risk of depression. They also did not find any evidence that a history of cardiovascular events affected the risk of major depression among patients with psoriasis.

However, 23.6% of patients with psoriasis reported that any symptoms of depression caused daily functional impairment compared with only 15.4% of patients without psoriasis. Based on their findings, the researchers encouraged providers to consider screening psoriasis patients for depression.

“Therefore, our study supports that all patients with psoriasis, regardless of severity, are at risk for depressive symptoms and may benefit from depression screening,” the study authors concluded.