Insulin resistance in psoriasis: A case-control study

Background: Recent studies suggest that psoriasis may be a pathogenic factor for the metabolic syndrome and atherosclerosis. The aim of our study was to investigate the metabolic state in psoriatic patients in order to clarify the association between psoriasis and insulin resistance. Methods: This single-centre, case- control study was performed between 2008 and 2010 to evaluate the metabolic state of thirty chronic plaque type psoriatic patients in comparison with the control group. The criteria of insulin resistance (Body Mass Index (BMI), Systolic Blood Pressure, Fasting Plasma Glucose, Oral Glucose Tolerance Test (OGTT), Serum Insulin and Lipid Profile) were assessed for each participant. Results: Thirty psoriatic patients with a mean disease duration of 3.94 + 2.96 years and 30 healthy controls were recruited for the study. Only one patient in each group filled the criteria of insulin resistance, and there was no significant difference between the two groups. The mean Fasting Plasma Glucose (FPG), Triglyceride (TG) and Systolic Blood Pressure (SBP) levels were significantly higher in psoriasis patients as compared to the controls (p=0.044, p=0.014 and p=0.001, respectively). In contrast, no statistically significant differences were observed in mean BMI, OGTT, insulin and HDL levels between the two groups. Conclusion: Despite the absence of any significant association between insulin resistance and psoriasis, it could be concluded that psoriasis may be an independent risk factor for diseases such as Ischemic Heart Disease (IHD) and Diabetes Mellitus (DM), hypertension and obesity.