Smoking Can Increase Risk of Psoriasis

Filed in archive Psoriasis & Skin Diseases , Studies on October 29, 2007

According to investigators from the Massachusetts General Hospital, Brigham and Women's Hospital, the Harvard School of Public Health, all in Boston, USA, and Vancouver General Hospital, Vancouver, BC, Canada: smoking increases the risk of developing psoriasis, heavier smoking increases the risk further, and the risk decreases only slowly after quitting.

Compared with women who never smoked, the risk of psoriasis was 37% higher among past smokers and 78% higher among current smokers. Pack-years were associated with a graded increase in the risk for psoriasis.

Compared with never smokers; the risk was 20% higher for 1-10 pack-years, 60% higher for 11-20 pack-years, and more than two times higher for +21 pack-years. The significant trends persisted with smoking duration in both current and past smokers.

Adding to the long list of smoking-related disorders is the condition called psoriasis - a skin disease that causes itchy or sore patches of thick, red skin with silvery scales.

Findings of this particular study were published in The American Journal of Medicine.

Source: Science Daily

[Photo Credit: psoriasisguide.ca]