Real-world burden of comorbidities in US patients with psoriatic arthritis

Objectives We assessed comorbidities associated with psoriatic arthritis in a broad cohort of US-insured adult patients using the Truven Health Analytics MarketScan Database. Methods Prevalence and incidence rates were assessed for 28 comorbid conditions among adult patients in the MarketScan database with a diagnosis of psoriatic arthritis and having two or more health claims for psoriatic arthritis between 1 July 2008 and 31 July 2015. Findings were compared with those of a similar, previously published analysis of patients with psoriasis. Results Among a total of 186 552 patients with a diagnosis of psoriatic arthritis, 94 302 had two or more health claims for psoriatic arthritis during the study period and were included in the comorbidity analysis. The prevalence and incidence rates of the most common comorbidities were 47.5% and 35.0% for hyperlipidaemia, respectively; 47.3% and 31.3% for hypertension; 21.2% and 15.4% for depression; 20.2% and 13.5% for type 2 diabetes mellitus; and 16.6% and 12.4% for fibromyalgia. Patients with psoriatic arthritis had notably higher incidence rates of uveitis, fibromyalgia, osteoporosis, Crohn's disease and non-alcoholic liver disease than patients with psoriasis. Conclusion This observational retrospective analysis using the MarketScan database provides real-world health claims data on the prevalence and incidence of comorbidities in a large US patient population with psoriatic arthritis. The observed high cardiometabolic comorbidity rates align with those reported in the literature and may help healthcare providers in the comprehensive management of patients with psoriatic arthritis.