Smokers at risk for Psoriasis

From Reuters Health Information

Smoking Tied to Higher Psoriasis Risk

By Amy Norton

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) Feb 03 2012 - A large study suggests that smokers have an increased risk of developing psoriasis.

People who were current smokers at the study's start were almost twice as likely as lifelong non-smokers to develop psoriasis. And past smokers had a 39% higher risk than non-smokers, the researchers reported January 12 in the American Journal of Epidemiology.

It is clear that the smoking came before the psoriasis, said senior researcher Dr. Abrar A. Qureshi, of Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston.

Past studies have found links between psoriasis and both obesity and heavy drinking. But after accounting for those factors, the smoking-psoriasis link remained, Dr. Qureshi told Reuters Health.

"I think if there's one message, it's that for now, smoking seems to be a risk factor for new-onset psoriasis," Dr. Qureshi said.

Other studies have pointed to some reasons that smoking could contribute to psoriasis -- mainly its effects on immune system activity and inflammation. Smokers, for instance, tend to have higher levels of autoantibodies.

Using data from three large, long-running studies of U.S. health professionals - including nearly 186,000 men and women followed for 12 to 20 years - researchers found that 2,410 developed psoriasis. And the risk was greater among both current smokers and former smokers.

As for smokers who already have psoriasis, the current findings don't speak directly to whether quitting will help their skin disease, according to Dr. Qureshi.

SOURCE: http://bit.ly/yUGYiX

Am J Epidemiol 2012.