PsO-to-PsA Transition Differs with Age at Psoriasis Onset, Severity

The time to transition from psoriasis (PsO) to psoriatic arthritis (PsA) may be longer for patients who were younger at the time of their first PsO symptom or who have more severe PsO, suggests a study published online in Seminars in Arthritis and Rheumatism.

“There are only a few studies specifically examining the time to transition from psoriasis to psoriatic arthritis, and our study provides data from a population-based cohort in the United States, which is currently lacking,” wrote lead and corresponding author Paras Karmacharya, MD, of the rheumatology divisions at the Mayo Clinic and Vanderbilt University Medical Center, and coauthors.

The retrospective, population-based cohort study included 158 adults with incident PsA from Olmsted County, Minnesota. Among them, 64 patients had concurrent PsO and PsA, and 94 patients had onset of PsO before PsA.

The median time from PsO to PsA transition was 35.5 months, according to the study. Younger age at PsO onset and severe skin disease were linked with longer transition spans.

“The estimated age at onset of psoriasis symptom (OR per 10-year decrease = 1.63, 95% CI: 1.26-2.11) and psoriasis severity (OR = 3.65, 95% CI: 1.18-11.32 for severe vs. mild) were associated with having a psoriasis diagnosis more than one year prior to incident PsA,” researchers reported.

—Jolynn Tumolo

Reference:
Karmacharya P, Wright K, Achenbach SJ, et al. Time to transition from psoriasis to psoriatic arthritis: a population-based study. Semin Arthritis Rheum. 2022;52:151949. doi.org/10.1016/j.semarthrit.2021.12.013