Analysis of Clinical Features of Patients with Psoriasis and Metabolic Syndrome in Xinjiang, China: A Cross-Sectional Study

Abstract

Objective: Psoriasis is often closely related to metabolic syndrome (MS), herein we conducted this study to investigate the clinical characteristics of a large sample of psoriasis patients with MS in Xinjiang, China. Methods: The prevalence of MS, age, height, weight, body mass index (BMI), red blood cell count, white blood cell count, platelet count, aspartate aminotransferase level, alanine aminotransferase level, and other clinical data were analyzed in 2,492 patients with psoriasis. The patients were divided into 2 groups based on the presence of MS and their clinical features were compared. Student t test was used for independent samples, and the chi-square test was used for count data. Results: Among the 2,492 patients, 349 had MS and 1,269 were considered overweight/obese. There were significant differences in sex, age, disease course, age at onset, BMI, systolic blood pressure (SBP), and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) between the patients with MS and those without (all P < 0.05). The red blood cell count (P < 0.001), white blood cell count (P = 0.013), erythrocyte sedimentation rate (P < 0.001), blood urea nitrogen level (P < 0.001), triglyceride level (P < 0.001), total cholesterol level (P < 0.001), and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol level (P = 0.002) were significantly higher in the MS group than in the psoriasis-only group. The high-density lipoprotein cholesterol level was significantly lower in the MS group than in the psoriasis-only group (P < 0.001). The alanine aminotransferase (P = 0.145) and albumin levels (P = 0.192) were not significantly different between the 2 groups (P > 0.05). Binary logistic regression analysis showed that sex, age, BMI, SBP, DBP, and fasting plasma glucose were independent risk factors for MS in patients with psoriasis, and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol was considered a protective factor for these patients. Conclusion: The prevalence of MS in patients with psoriasis is high. Female sex, age, BMI, SBP, DBP, and fasting plasma glucose may be risk factors for psoriasis complicated by MS.