Are patients with psoriasis undertreated? Results of National Psoriasis Foundation survey

Elizabeth J. Horn, Kathleen M. Fox, Vaishali Patel, Chiun Fang Chiou, Frank Dann, Mark Lebwohl

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

131 Scopus citations

Abstract

Objective: We sought to assess whether patients with psoriasis with moderate or severe disease are being treated with systemic therapy. Methods: Participants were identified from a random sample of the National Psoriasis Foundation contact database who were 18 years and older, with severe psoriasis (>10% body surface area) and moderate psoriasis (3%-10% body surface area); respondents with psoriatic arthritis were excluded. Results: In all, 1657 respondents with psoriasis completed the survey (28% severe, 41% moderate). A total of 39% of respondents with severe psoriasis and 37% with moderate psoriasis were not currently receiving any treatment. Among respondents currently receiving therapy, only 43% of respondents with severe psoriasis received either traditional systemic therapy, biologic therapy, or phototherapy. Limitations: Respondents were from the National Psoriasis Foundation contact database and reported their current severity, which may be affected by their treatment. Body surface area as a measure of patient-reported severity has not been validated but has been used in several published studies. Conclusions: Almost 40% of respondents with psoriasis were currently not receiving treatment. For respondents with severe psoriasis, 26% were treated with systemic therapy, phototherapy, or both; 39% were not in treatment; and 35% were treated with topical therapy alone.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)957-962
Number of pages6
JournalJournal of the American Academy of Dermatology
Volume57
Issue number6
DOIs
StatePublished - Dec 2007

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Are patients with psoriasis undertreated? Results of National Psoriasis Foundation survey'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this