August 23, 2010
CONTACT: Kim Menard
215-662-6183
kim.menard@uphs.upenn.edu
This release is available online at
http://www.uphs.upenn.edu/news/News_Releases/2010/08/psoriasis-depression/
Depression, Anxiety and Suicidality Increased in Psoriasis Patients
Individuals with psoriasis appear to have an increased risk of depression, anxiety and suicidality, according to a report by Penn Medicine dermatologists. The study appears in the August issue of Archives of Dermatology, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.
Resident Shanu Kurd, MD, MSCE, MHS, Joel Gelfand, MD, MSCE, assistant professor of Dermatology and Epidemiology at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, and colleagues studied data from electronic medical records in the United Kingdom from 1987 to 2002. The analyses included 146,042 patients with mild psoriasis, 3,956 patients with severe psoriasis and 766,950 patients without psoriasis (five control patients for each patient with psoriasis, selected from the same practice and similar entry dates). Patients were defined as having new-onset depression, anxiety or suicidality if corresponding diagnostic codes appeared in their records after follow-up began.
The excess risk attributable to psoriasis is one case of depression for every 39 patients with severe psoriasis per year (or per 87 patients in patients with mild psoriasis per year). The excess risks associated with psoriasis for anxiety and suicidality correspond to one case per 123 and 2,500 patients with psoriasis per year, respectively.
“It is important for clinicians to evaluate patients with psoriasis for these conditions to improve outcomes,” said the study authors.
For additional information, see:
JAMA/Archives press release: http://pubs.ama-assn.org/homepage/media/2010a/0816.dtl#5
###
Penn Medicine is one of the world's leading academic medical centers, dedicated to the related missions of medical education, biomedical research, and excellence in patient care. Penn Medicine consists of the Raymond and Ruth Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania (founded in 1765 as the nation's first medical school) and the University of Pennsylvania Health System, which together form a $4.3 billion enterprise.
The Perelman School of Medicine has been ranked among the top five medical schools in the United States for the past 16 years, according to U.S. News & World Report's survey of research-oriented medical schools. The School is consistently among the nation's top recipients of funding from the National Institutes of Health, with $398 million awarded in the 2012 fiscal year.
The University of Pennsylvania Health System's patient care facilities include: The Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania -- recognized as one of the nation's top "Honor Roll" hospitals by U.S. News & World Report; Penn Presbyterian Medical Center; and Pennsylvania Hospital -- the nation's first hospital, founded in 1751. Penn Medicine also includes additional patient care facilities and services throughout the Philadelphia region.
Penn Medicine is committed to improving lives and health through a variety of community-based programs and activities. In fiscal year 2012, Penn Medicine provided $827 million to benefit our community.