Metabolic Syndrome Prevalence Increased in Patients With Psoriatic Arthritis

Metabolic syndrome (MetS) has a higher prevalence in patients with psoriatic arthritis (PsA) compared with patients who have psoriasis and rheumatoid arthritis (RA), according to a recent study published in the International Journal of Rheumatology.

To determine whether there is an increased prevalence of MetS in PsA populations compared with psoriasis and RA, researchers conducted a systematic review following Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses guidelines and assessed the quality of the studies using the Joanna Briggs Institute Checklist for Prevalence Studies.

The pooled prevalence of MetS in PsA populations was 0.46 ± 0.06 (95% CI, 0.40-0.51) compared with 0.34 ± 0.03 (95% CI, 0.32-0.37) in psoriasis populations and 0.31 ± 0.04 (95% CI, 0.27-0.35) in RA populations.

“The prevalence of MetS is significantly increased in PsA populations compared with [psoriasis] and RA populations,” concluded the study authors. “Further studies should be performed using a standardized definition of MetS in PsA, RA, and [psoriasis] populations to determine whether addressing the metabolic components in MetS offers any therapeutic benefits and in terms of attaining MDA and improving cardiovascular health,” they added.

Reference
Loganathan A, Kamalaraj N, El-Haddad C, Pile K. Systematic review and meta-analysis on prevalence of metabolic syndrome in psoriatic arthritis, rheumatoid arthritis and psoriasis. Int J Rheum Dis. Published online June 2, 2021. doi:10.1111/1756-185X.14147