The research indicated that 29% of the patients who had psoriasis were also current smokers. This was in comparison with 19% of other participants. Correspondingly, 5.7% of psoriasis patients were diagnosed with COPD compared to 3.6% who did not have the disorder.
Conclusively, people who suffered from psoriasis were 27% more likely to develop COPD that those who did not have psoriasis, after taking into account age, gender, smoking, socio-economic status and obesity.
The researchers concluded that their may be an association between psoriasis and COPD and that, based on current findings, further investigation is warranted. They also suggest that health care professionals caring for patients with psoriasis be aware of the association and educate patients on the risks of smoking and COPD.
Simple screening tests exist that allow doctors to diagnose the presence of COPD. If you have psoriasis and are a smoker, speak to your primary care provider about diagnostic testing for COPD as soon as possible. If you are a smoker and have a desire to quit, the following may help:
10 Tips to Help You Quit Smoking
The Health Risks of Secondhand Smoke
Using the Nicotine Patch: Lauren's Success Story
Still need more information about quitting? Visit About.com's Smoking Cessation Guide site for some great quit tips and free quit smoking email courses.
Read more about the psoriasis study in the British Journal of Dermatology.
My grandmother has terrible terrible psoriais and she smoked for most of her life. She doesn’t have COPD but I wonder if all that smoking may be the cause of her psoriais now.
How interesting… I should mention this to a friend that has psoriasis and smokes. Probably something she should keep tucked in the back of her head.
The study suggested a possible link between psoriasis and COPD in smokers.
To my knowledge, psoriasis is NOT caused by smoking, but other risk factors including gender, age, family history, climate and ethnicity.
As far as being a smoker and having psoriasis, the study suggests that those people need to be screened for COPD. Smoking is the number one cause of COPD and COPD is often underdiagnosed in general practice, therefore early screening, especially in smokers is important. I wrote an article about that here:
http://www.copd.about.com/od/copd/f/underdiagnosis.htm
Thanks for both of your comments.
This is very interesting. I wonder if there are statistics linking people with psoriasis and CPOD who do not smoke? I wonder if there is a connection between the two regardless of a smoking factor making a person more susceptible as people who smoke are not the only sufferers of CPOD.
My mom has had bad psoriasis since she was in her early 20’s, and smoked for over 30 years. She quit about 5 years ago, thank goodness. I don’t think she’s ever had any kind of pulmonary function screening. I’m definitely going to mention this to her.
That is really an interesting study. Is that a big enough sample to draw definitive conclusions about correlations? I don’t know, just asking. Also, I wonder if people with psoriasis are more likely to smoke? Very interesting. Thanks for pointing it out.
That’s really interesting to read. I’m struggling to quit and it’s good to know (as if i don’t already…) that there’s so many benefits to quitting. wish me luck…
Sukhaminder: Only 29% of the patients studied were smokers and overall, taking this and other factors into account, psoriasis patients were still 27% more likely to develop COPD than those w/out psoriasis.
Debbie: I would definitely talk to her about getting pulmonary function tests.
http://copd.about.com/od/copd/a/pfts.htm
Kerry: The fourth paragraph should clarify this for you:
“The researchers concluded that their may be an association between psoriasis and COPD and that, based on current findings, further investigation is warranted.”
And Clara: You go girl, good luck with your quitting.
Thanks for all of your comments on this interesting topic.
Interesting study… but it doesn’t surprise me that there’s a link to copd and psoriasis, or any other disease or condition that’s linked to a smoking-related condition. It would be another good reason to quit.
Clara…I’m glad you’re working on quitting. You’ve got a good support network here!
What an interesting study! What concerns me, is that studies like this come and go in the news, and many physicians are not aware of these links/correlations. Then again, why should we be? The focus of medicine now leans so heavily on treatment instead of prevention and early detection…
Lisa: The #1 cause of COPD is smoking and with psoriasis, there are other risk factors including gender, age, family history, climate and ethnicity. The study, according to Medwire News, also talks about both psoriasis and COPD being linked to metabolic syndrome. (http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=4756)
Lynne:
You are so right. Being a nurse, I know that for a fact, as well as being a patient, at times. That is why this, and all of the other About.com sites, are so important. It is good to shed light on these topics that most people never hear about.
Thanks for both of your comments.
Thanks for taking the time to follow-up on my comment. Not only does your site go in depth – lending support to your blog entries and giving us a place to turn to, to learn more, but it has a personal touch! Way to go!
Thanks so much Lynne, for your support. It means so much to me that people actually benefit from what I write….