Epidemiology and Clinical Features of Psoriasis Patients Admitted to A Dermatology Ward

Abstract Introduction: Psoriasis is a chronic, immune-mediated, inflammatory disease which affects primarily the skin and joints. It occurs worldwide, but its prevalence varies considerably between different regions of the world. Objective: To determine of epidemiologic aspects and clinical features of psoriasis among the patients admitted to a tertiary referral hospital. Materials and Methods: This was a descriptive study reviewing all psoriasis patients hospitalized from March 2012 to March 2017 at the dermatology ward of tertiary Razi Hospital in Rasht, northern Iran. Of 234 patients 14 cases were excluded from the study due to paucity of data. Demographic and clinical data such as age, gender, location, type of psoriasis, time of onset, family history, comorbidities, accompanied by arthritis, nail involvement and type of treatment were gathered. Diagnosis of disease was based on clinical and histopathologic findings. Data were analyzed by SPSS version 18 software Results: Among 220 patients entered into this study, 53.2% were men and 46.8% were women. The most popular types of psoriasis were psoriasis vulgaris (55%), pustular (26.8%), erythrodermic (12.7%) and flexural (5.5%). 199(90.5%) patients were under 20 years at the time of the onset of psoriasis and 26.4% having a positive family history of psoriasis. Hypertension and diabetes with 20.7% each, hyperlipidemia (15.4%) and cardiovascular disease (11%) were the most frequent comorbidities. 26.4% had arthritis. Conclusion: Psoriasis vulgaris was the most prevalent type of the disease and men were more affected than women. The age of onset in most patients was under 20 years. Hypertension and diabetes were the most comorbidities among these patients Conflict of interest: non declared