One in four psoriasis patients also shows signs of arthritis
Initial findings from a study of patients with psoriasis show that of the 1,500 participants who have so far registered and completed an online screening tool, one in four showed evidence of possible arthritis.
The Hippocrates Prospective Observational Study involves a team of researchers at University College Dublin (UCD), in partnership with the University of Oxford, looking at how psoriatic arthritis (PsA) – arthritis related to having psoriasis – can be spotted and treated earlier.
Initial results among patients who completed screening show that two in five of those surveyed had experienced a swollen joint or joints. One in three said their finger or toenails had holes or pits. A similar percentage had heel pain and 28pc reported swollen fingers and toes.
Researchers are hoping to use the findings to develop diagnostic tests to better determine which psoriasis patients may develop psoriatic arthritis to prevent irreversible joint damage before it occurs, diagnose it earlier or predict disease progression.
They are asking more people to sign up in the hope of getting 25,000 participants across Europe, and it continues to be open to anyone over 18 years.
The skin condition affects at least 73,000 people across Ireland, causing flaky, scaly and itchy pink or red patches on the skin.
For one-third of patients, psoriasis can predispose them to developing the inflammatory disease, psoriatic arthritis.
Consultant rheumatologist and study co-lead Professor Oliver Fitzgerald said the research “aims to find ways to identify which patients with psoriasis are likely to go on to develop psoriatic arthritis by developing a simple blood test that would catch the disease before there are any obvious symptoms”.
“In this way, we hope to be able to intervene at a much earlier stage to prevent the disease from actually occurring by modifying risk factors or by offering preventative therapies,” he said.