Coronary Artery Calcification Prevalence Higher in Diabetics, Patients with Psoriasis

The prevalence of moderate-to-severe coronary calcification was found to be significantly higher in patients with type 2 diabetes and psoriasis than those without these conditions.

Prior studies have shown that psoriasis and type 2 diabetes is associated with the increased risk of cardiovascular disease. To help screen for the risk of future cardiac events, physicians assess the severity of asymptomatic coronary atherosclerosis (clogged arteries) using coronary artery calcium (CAC) scores.

In a study published in JAMA Dermatology, researchers compared CAC scores between patients with psoriasis, diabetes, and healthy controls. Researchers analyzed data from 3 studies, with a total of 387 individuals, and found that the prevalence of moderate-to-severe coronary calcification was similar between type 2 diabetes and psoriasis patients.

Furthermore, calcification in these patients were found to be 5 times higher than the healthy control patients.

“These findings warrant early cardiovascular risk assessment and aggressive risk factor modification in those with moderate to severe psoriasis,” said researchers.

Authors noted that some limitations to the study included an insufficient amount of biological data, which limited their ability to draw a cause-and-effect relationship between atherosclerosis and psoriasis.