Psoriasis Is Common, Carries a Substantial Burden Even When Not Extensive, and Is Associated with Widespread Treatment Dissatisfaction

Stern, Robert S.
Nijsten, Tamar
Feldman, Steven R.
Margolis, David J.
Rolstad, Tara

^*The National Psoriasis Foundation, Portland, Oregon, USA
†Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Department of Dermatology, Harvard Medical School, Department of Dermatology, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
‡Wake Forest University Health Sciences, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, USA
§University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

Address correspondence to: Robert S. Stern, MD, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Dermatology, GZ 522, 330 Brookline Avenue, Boston, MA 02215. Email: [email protected]

Abbreviation: CI, confidence interval(s)

Manuscript received May 2, 2003; revised August 12, 2003; accepted for publication August 19, 2003

Journal of Investigative Dermatology Symposium Proceedings 9(2):p 136-139, March 2004.

The impact of psoriasis on quality of life has been studied in select patient populations. Population-based data detailing the distribution of extent of disease, associated problems in everyday life, and treatment satisfaction for the US population have been lacking. Our population-based survey indicates that approximately 4.5 million adults have been diagnosed as having psoriasis. Most (59%) have little or no involvement, but 650,000 adults have at least three palms of body surface involved and more than 1,000,000 indicate substantial dissatisfaction with their treatment. Only 5% of patients (56,000) who report severe dissatisfaction with current therapy have extensive disease (10 palms). Many individuals with little psoriasis at the time of interview considered the disease to be a large problem in everyday life.