Circulating endothelial cells and serum visfatin are indicators of cardiovascular disease risk in psoriasis patients

Association between serum visfatin levels and psoriasis and their correlation with disease severity: a meta-analysis

Objective

To determine the association between serum visfatin levels and psoriasis and to evaluate the correlation between serum visfatin levels and the severity of psoriasis.

Methods

The electronic databases PubMed®, Embase® and the Cochrane Library were searched for articles published from inception to 1 May 2020. Data were extracted and then standard mean differences (SMDs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated for pooled estimates.

Results

A total of 11 studies met the inclusion criteria and were included (448 patients diagnosed with psoriasis and 377 controls). This meta-analysis demonstrated that patients with psoriasis had significantly higher levels of visfatin than the controls (SMD = 0.90, 95% CI 0.52, 1.28). Subgroup analyses showed that differences in serum visfatin levels between the patient group and the control group were associated with ethnicity, Psoriasis Area and Severity Index (PASI) and body mass index. Additionally, a meta-analysis of correlations showed that visfatin levels in patients with psoriasis were positively correlated with PASI (r = 0.51, 95% CI 0.14, 0.75).

Conclusions

This meta-analysis showed that serum visfatin levels in patients with psoriasis were significantly higher than those in the controls and a positive correlation between serum visfatin levels and psoriasis severity was observed.

Increased risk of aortic aneurysm (AA) in relation to the severity of psoriasis: A national population-based matched-cohort study

BACKGROUND

Inflammation of systemic and vascular tissues besides the skin in psoriasis is associated with cardiovascular morbidity and mortality.

OBJECTIVE

We sought to investigate whether or not patients with psoriasis have an increased risk of aortic aneurysm (AA).

METHODS

This population-based cohort study identified 34,301 patients with psoriasis in the Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database during 2004 to 2006, who were matched for age and sex with 137,204 control subjects without psoriasis from the Taiwan Longitudinal Health Insurance Database 2000. Each individual was individually followed up for 5 years to identify those who subsequently developed AA.

RESULTS

After adjusting for medical history and medication use, patients with psoriasis were at increased overall risk of AA (adjusted hazard ratio [HR] 1.80; 95% confidence interval 1.25-2.61). The risk for AA increased with the severity of psoriasis. The adjusted HRs were higher for male than female patients (adjusted HR 1.84 vs 1.56), and for patients younger than 50 years versus older patients (adjusted HR 2.81 vs 1.64).

LIMITATIONS

There is a lack of information regarding patients' Psoriasis Area and Severity Index score, daily tobacco use, or alcohol consumption.

CONCLUSION

Patients with psoriasis are predisposed to developing AA: this risk increases with psoriasis severity and is independent of established cardiovascular risk factors.