Psoriasis Increases Risk of Uncontrolled High Blood Pressure

Patients suffering from the skin condition psoriasis have a great risk of developing uncontrolled hypertension, a new study published in the journal JAMA Dermatology reveals. Uncontrolled hypertension is a condition where in the blood pressure of an individual is at least 140/90 mm Hg. The researchers found that patients who have moderate to severe psoriasis have the highest risk of developing uncontrolled hypertension and the risk rises with the severity of the skin condition.

The study was conducted by researchers at University of Pennsylvania who made use of data from The Health Improvement Network (THIN) database in Britain.

“Over the last several years, studies have shown that psoriasis, specifically severe psoriasis, is an independent risk factor for a variety of comorbidities, putting patients suffering with this common skin disease at an increased risk of other conditions such as heart attack and stroke. To our knowledge, ours is the first study to evaluate the effect of objectively determined psoriasis severity on blood pressure control”, co-author of the study, Junko Takeshita said.

Source-Medindia