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Objective: To explore how the parents of children with atopic dermatitis and allergic diseases such as food allergy, allergic rhinoconjunctivitis, and asthma experience interactions with the Danish healthcare system over time. Design and methods: A qualitative design with individual in-depth interviews. The analysis was inspired by Systematic Text Condensation. Subjects: Eleven parents of children with atopic dermatitis and allergic diseases who received treatment at hospitals in the Capital Region of Denmark. The families had experiences of cross-sectoral patient care. Results: Despite having the same diseases, the children's care pathways were very different. Mapping demonstrated the intricacy of care pathways for this group of children. We identified three aspects that impacted interaction with healthcare: responsibility, tasks, and roles. The families experienced care when the distribution of tasks and responsibilities associated with treatment and system navigation were consistent with both their expectations and their actual experiences. At the same time, families frequently experienced limited collaboration between healthcare professionals resulting in perceived fragmented care and an extended role for parents as care coordinators. Families felt cared for when healthcare professionals knew both their biomedical and biographical circumstances, and adjusted the level of support and care in accordance with the families' particular needs, expectations, and evolving competences. Conclusion: We suggest that a possible pathway to improve care may be through a partnership approach as part of family-centered care, with general practitioners having a key role in helping to articulate the individual needs and expectations of each family. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To our knowledge, this is the first study to estimate the proportion of patients with moderate-to-severe psoriasis at a national level based on clinical characteristics, and furthermore to estimate the proportion of patients who are candidates for systemic therapy but do not receive it. This study shows that in the Danish population a large proportion of patients with moderate-to-severe psoriasis are candidates for systemic therapy but do not receive the therapy. Time on conventional systemic therapy for patients with moderate-to-severe psoriasis was shorter today than in previous time periods; more patients initiated biological therapy as second-line therapy; and the median time from initiation of systemic therapy to initiation of biological therapy has decreased in more recent years. Background: Patients with moderate-to-severe psoriasis are candidates for systemic treatment, but it is unknown how many receive such therapy at a national level in Denmark. Objectives: We aimed to determine the prevalence of conventional systemic therapy use in patients with moderate-to-severe psoriasis and, further, to investigate the time to discontinuation of conventional systemic therapy and initiation of biological therapy among biologic-naïve patients. Methods: This registry-based study identified a cohort of patients with psoriasis in Denmark. We estimated the prevalence of moderate-to-severe psoriasis at a national level using registry data. Inverse probability weighting was used to mitigate potential selection bias in the prevalence estimate of moderate-to-severe psoriasis. Analyses were then performed on the weighted cohort. Results: Of patients with psoriasis in Denmark, 10.9% were estimated to have moderate-to-severe psoriasis, of whom 62.3% received either conventional systemic or biological therapy, meaning 37.7% who were considered candidates for systemic therapy did not receive any systemic treatment. The study demonstrated that, comparing previous time periods with more recent years: (i) time on conventional systemic therapy for patients with moderate-to-severe psoriasis has become shorter, with a median (interquartile range) of 3.0 years (0.6–10.0) in 1985–1994 vs. 0.6 years (0.3–2.0) in 2014–2018; (ii) more patients initiated biologics as second-line therapy, with 69.5% in 2010–2013 vs. 71.2% in 2014–2018; and (iii) the median time from initiation of systemic therapy to initiation of biological therapy decreased from 13.3 years (11.5–16.8) in 2010–2013 to 1.9 years (1.7–2.4) in 2014–2018. Conclusions: This study found that nearly 37.7% of Danish patients with moderate-to-severe psoriasis do not receive systemic treatment even though they would qualify for this. Furthermore, for patients treated with conventional systemics, drug survival decreased during the observation period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: The purpose of this study is to explore treatment preferences and identify patient characteristics in young bio-naive adults with moderate to severe psoriasis in the Nordic countries (Norway, Finland, Sweden, and Denmark). Methods: Patients were 18–45 years old and bio-naive but referred for biologic treatment of moderate to severe psoriasis. Patients were included at eight Nordic dermatology clinics. Patients with significant comorbidity or psoriatic arthritis were excluded. The Psoriasis Area and Severity Index (PASI) and Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI) were assessed along with basic patient information. A semistructured interview guide was used in individual qualitative interviews, asking patients about their treatment preferences and reasons, disease journey, and disease management. The interviews were analyzed using thematic content analysis. Twenty-four patients sufficed to reach saturation in this qualitative study. Results: The patient sample characteristics represented a qualitative variation in age, sex, symptoms, duration of disease, and country. We included a total of 12 male and 12 female patients. The mean age was 34 years (range 18–45 years), the mean age at diagnosis was 20 years (range 6–34 years), the mean ± standard deviation (SD) time since diagnosis was 13 ± 8 years, PASI was 9.5 ± 4.7, and DLQI was 15.2 ± 6.4. Interviews suggested that both the burden of disease as well as the burden of treatment influenced patient preferences regarding treatment attributes, hence getting alleviation from symptoms did not alone influence patient preferences. Time, effort, and inconvenience related to psoriasis treatments also influenced patient preferences. Conclusions: This first in-depth, qualitative study in young bio-naive adults with psoriasis suggests that patient preferences are focusing not only on symptom relief but also on alleviating the burden of psoriasis treatment. Understanding the reasons for patient preferences and the perspectives of young adults is needed to guide individual shared decision-making in psoriasis management. Plain Language Summary: Not much research has been done on understanding the disease burden and treatment needs of young adults suffering from psoriasis. This is an interview study with young adults from Nordic countries suffering from moderate to severe psoriasis with an active lifestyle. The adult patients were all referred for biologic treatment of psoriasis but had not yet started treatment when they were interviewed. The aim was to explore treatment preferences in this group. The study showed that treatment goals depended upon both alleviation of symptoms and obtaining a low treatment burden. The most influential symptoms were scaling, itching, and visible plaques. The most important treatment burden features were efficacy, durability, speed of response, safety, and convenience. Understanding the reasons behind these different treatment preferences is essential to help shared-decision psoriasis management that matches individual needs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Patients with psoriasis have a high risk for multiple comorbid conditions. However, few studies have examined the association between psoriasis and severe and rare infections. This study reports the incidence of severe and rare infections (considered as rare in Denmark) among Danish patients with psoriasis, compared with the general population. Objectives: The objectives of this study were to assess the incidence and risk of severe and rare infections in Danish patients with psoriasis and the matched general population, and to compare this risk for patients with severe or mild psoriasis with that of the general population. Methods: Data for individuals aged ≥18 years who were alive and resident in the source population were collected from the Danish National Patient Register between 1 January 1997 and 31 December 2018. Individuals with any of the investigated chronic infections prior to inclusion were excluded. Patients with psoriasis were matched (1 : 6) for age and sex with general population controls. Severe infections were defined as infections requiring treatment in a hospital setting and rare infections included HIV, hepatitis B and C, and tuberculosis infections. Incidence rates (IRs) were reported per 100 000 person‐years of exposure. Severe psoriasis was defined according to previous or active use of systemic or biological treatment. Patients who never received biological and/or systemic treatment were categorized as having mild psoriasis. Results: A total of 94 450 patients with psoriasis were matched with 566 700 controls. The respective IRs were higher for patients with any psoriasis compared with controls; IR 3104·9 [95% confidence interval (CI) 3066·6 to 3143·7] and IR 2381·1 (95% CI 2367·6 to 2394·6) for any infection, IR 3080·6 (95% CI 3042·5 to 3119·3) and IR 2364·4 (95% CI 2350·9 to 2377·9) for severe infections, and IR 42·9 (95% CI 38·89 to 47·4) and IR 31·8 (95% CI 30·34 to 33·3) for rare infections, respectively. Patients with severe psoriasis had higher IRs of severe or rare infections (IR 3847·7, 95% CI 3754·3 to 3943·4) compared with patients with mild psoriasis and controls. Conclusions: As the severity of psoriasis increases, so does the risk of severe and rare infections. Therefore, clinicians should be aware of the increased risk of severe and rare infections in patients with severe psoriasis so that early investigation and treatment can be initiated. What is already known about this topic?Few studies have looked at the incidence and prevalence of serious infections (associated with hospitalization) and rare infections including tuberculosis, hepatitis B and C, and HIV among patients with different severities of psoriasis. What does this study add?Patients with psoriasis have an increased risk of severe and rare infections.Clinicians should be aware of the increased risk of severe and rare infections in patients with severe psoriasis so that early investigation and treatment can be initiated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Patients with chronic inflammatory diseases (CIDs) may encounter challenges in their family planning journey. Here, we report on the access to family planning and pregnancy (FPP) information and the concerns among patients in Denmark with CIDs. Methods: Patients aged 18–50 years with CIDs participated in an online survey. Patients were recruited through patient advocacy groups and were asked to report information on their diagnosis, concerns related to FPP and perceptions of access to FPP information. Descriptive statistics were applied. Results: Of the eligible respondents, 368 had rheumatological diagnoses (rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, juvenile idiopathic arthritis or axial spondyloarthritis; mean age 40 years; 83% women, 17% men) and 95 had dermatological diagnoses (psoriasis or psoriatic arthritis; mean age 38 years; 67% women, 33% men). Approximately 70% of all patients reported seeking FPP information from patient advocacy groups; 57% of both cohorts used the internet as information sources; and 73% and 42% of rheumatological and dermatological cohorts used their hospital and specialist doctor, respectively. Despite this, 58% and 67% of patients with rheumatological and dermatological diagnoses reported limited or no access to FPP information, with > 70% of dermatological patients of early/mid-reproductive age reporting a lack of access to this information. Overall, 68% of patients with rheumatological and 73% with dermatological diagnoses had biological children, amongst whom 24% and 18%, respectively, indicated their disease affected the number of children they ultimately decided to have. The most frequent FPP concerns among patients who did not want any/more biological children were disease worsening, heredity and taking care of the child. Conclusions: Despite awareness of available sources of FPP information, patients expressed experiencing a feeling of limited access to information and having concerns that affect key decisions regarding FPP. The results of this survey highlight a need for improved and more standardised FPP information for patients with CIDs in Denmark. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Psoriasis flare-ups and the change of morphology from nonpustular to pustular psoriasis following tapering and withdrawal of systemic corticosteroids have been reported. Despite these risks, systemic corticosteroids are still widely prescribed for patients with psoriasis, but the knowledge about psoriasis flare-ups and whether the physicians take precautions during these treatments is limited. Methods: We conducted a questionnaire study among all dermatologists, gastroenterologists and rheumatologists in Denmark who work at a hospital or in a private practice to investigate the use, opinion and experience with oral, intramuscular and intra-articular corticosteroids in the treatment of patients with psoriasis. Results: We received answers from a total of 248 physicians. Compared with oral and intramuscular corticosteroids, intra-articular corticosteroids were the most reported treatment in patients with psoriasis and only used by the rheumatologists. It was mainly the dermatologists and rheumatologists who had observed psoriasis flare-ups following treatment with oral, intramuscular and intra-articular corticosteroids. Half of the dermatologists (50%) and a fourth of the rheumatologists (29%) had observed at least one psoriasis flare-up following treatment with oral corticosteroids. About 10% of both the dermatologists and the rheumatologists had observed at least one psoriasis flare-up following treatment with intramuscular and/or intra-articular corticosteroids. Overall, 44% of the respondents took precautions, when they treated a patient with psoriasis with oral, intramuscular and intra-articular corticosteroids. Conclusion: The results from the questionnaire indicate that systemic corticosteroids for patients with psoriasis can cause flare-ups and should be used with care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a prevalent relapsing inflammatory skin disease. There is currently little knowledge about healthcare utilization and medication use along with parental corticosteroid phobia in relation to severity of pediatric AD. Objectives: To study the association between parental‐reported healthcare utilization, medication use, and topical corticosteroid phobia and pediatric AD severity. Methods: The study population included all children in Denmark with a diagnostic code of AD (ICD‐10 code, group L20) given at a hospital department of dermatology between 2014 and 2018. A questionnaire containing 158 response items was sent to the legal parents. We surveyed disease severity, AD treatment, corticosteroid phobia, and healthcare use along with other variables. Disease severity was assessed using the Patient‐Oriented Eczema Measure tool, and corticosteroid phobia was assessed using the Topical Corticosteroid Phobia (TOPICOP) score. Results: In total, 1343 (39%) parents completed the questionnaire and 95.3% were completed by the biological mother. Children's mean age was 8.9 ± 4.5 years, and 52.8% were boys. Severe AD was associated with a higher number of healthcare visits to GPs, private dermatologists, and hospital departments. Mean global TOPICOP score was 38.27 ± 19.9%. There was a significant inverse linear trend between global TOPICOP score and parental educational level (Ptrend <.0005). Conclusions: The significant association between high global TOPICOP score and low parental educational level, resulting in delayed treatment of AD flares, indicates that improved family education ultimately may reduce healthcare expenses and burden of disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: To date, there are no nationwide studies of the social and economic burden of psoriasis to patients in Denmark. Incentives for health care management based on patient-related outcomes and value (IMPROVE) in psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis is a project aimed at assisting movement from activity-based to outcome-based health care management. One of the key objectives in IMPROVE is to describe the disease-associated socioeconomic burden of psoriasis.Methods: A case-matched study of the impact of psoriasis on patients' income, employment and health care costs in Denmark was performed. The IMPROVE study was a retrospective analysis of patients with a hospital diagnosis of psoriasis identified from the Danish National Patient Registry (NPR). In total, 13,025 psoriasis patients and 25,629 matched controls were identified from the NPR. Data from psoriasis patients and matched controls were compared for social and economic factors including income, employment, health care costs and risk of comorbidities.Results: Psoriasis was associated with increased health care costs (mean annual costs +116% compared to control, p < 0.001), peaking in the year of referral to hospital for psoriasis and sustained thereafter. Both direct and indirect costs were significantly higher for patients with psoriasis than controls (p < 0.001). In the years before and immediately following hospital diagnosis, the rates of employment were lower in psoriasis patients than controls. Comorbidities, including cardiovascular (odds ratio 1.93 [95% CI 1.77-2.09]) and psychiatric conditions (odds ratio 2.61 [95% CI 2.30-2.97]), were more prevalent in patients with psoriasis than controls.Conclusion: In Denmark, psoriasis has a significant impact on health care costs, income and employment, and is associated with a range of comorbidities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

OBJECTIVE Topical corticosteroids (CSs) are commonly used to treat inflammatory skin conditions including eczema and psoriasis. Although topical CS package inserts describe hyperglycemia and glycosuria as adverse drug reactions, it is unclear whether topical CS use in real life is also associated with an increased risk of type 2 diabetes (T2D). RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS Two matched case-control studies and one cohort study were conducted using routinely collected health care data from Denmark and the U.K. A total of 115,218 and 54,944 adults were identified as case subjects with new-onset T2D in the Danish and U.K. case-control study, respectively. For the Danish cohort study, 2,689,473 adults were included. The main exposure was topical CSs, and the outcome was incident T2D. RESULTS Topical CS was significantly associated with T2D in the Danish (adjusted odds ratio [OR] 1.25 [95% CI 1.23–1.28]) and U.K. (adjusted OR 1.27 [95% CI 1.23–1.31]) case-control studies. Individuals who were exposed to topical CSs had significantly increased risk of incident T2D (adjusted hazard ratio 1.27 [95% CI 1.26–1.29]). We observed significant dose-response relationships between T2D and increasing potency of topical CSs in the two Danish studies. The results were consistent across all sensitivity analyses. CONCLUSIONS We found a positive association between topical CS prescribing and incident T2D in Danish and U.K. adult populations. Clinicians should be cognizant of possible diabetogenic effects of potent topical CSs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Psoriasis is an immune-mediated inflammatory disease, which, in studies among adults, have been shown to cluster with autoimmune disease. The aim of this cross-sectional register study was to examine possible associations between 9 pre-selected autoimmune diseases and psoriasis in children and adolescents. The study population consisted of all individuals living in Denmark, age under 18 years on 31 December 2012. A total of 1,925 children and adolescents with psoriasis and 1,194,712 without psoriasis were identified. Psoriatic arthritis (adjusted odds ratio (OR) 10.08; 7.97-12.74), rheumatoid arthritis (adjusted OR 6.61; 2.75-15.87) and vitiligo (adjusted OR 4.76; 1.71-13.20) showed strong associations with psoriasis. In addition to increased risk of selected autoimmune diseases, the presence of psoriasis was associated with increased risk of multiple concurrent autoimmune diseases compared with children and adolescents without psoriasis. Clinicians should be aware of extracutaneous symptoms when treating children and adolescents with psoriasis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The incidence and temporal trends of psoriasis in Denmark between 2003 and 2012 were examined. There was a female predominance ranging between 50.0% (2007) and 55.4% (2009), and the mean age at time of diagnosis was 47.7-58.7 years. A total of 126,055 patients with psoriasis (prevalence 2.2%) were identified. Incidence rates of psoriasis (per 100,000 person years) ranged from 107.5 in 2005 to a peak incidence of 199.5 in 2010. Incidence rates were higher for women, and patients aged 60-69 years, respectively. Use of systemic non-biologic agents, i.e. methotrexate, cyclosporine, retinoids, or psoralen plus ultraviolet A (PUVA) increased over the study course, and were used in 15.0% of all patients. Biologic agents (efalizumab, etanercept, infliximab, adalimumab, or ustekinumab) were utilized in 2.7% of patients. On a national level, incidence of psoriasis fluctuated during the 10- year study course. The relationship between psoriasis incidence and age appeared to be relatively linear, and disease prevalence was comparable to that in other European countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Atopic dermatitis ( AD) is a chronic inflammatory skin condition with a multifactorial etiopathogenesis. Studies have suggested that several perinatal factors may influence the risk of AD in early childhood. We investigated possible neonatal risk factors such as jaundice, blue light phototherapy, birthweight, gestational age at birth, and season of birth on the risk of developing AD in the first 5 years of life. Materials & Methods Data were collected through Danish nationwide administrative registers. All newborn children between 1997 and 2007 (n = 673,614) were included in the cohort. Incidence rate ratios ( IRRs) were estimated with 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs) by multivariate Poisson regression analyses. Results We identified a total of 85,743 children with AD in the first 5 years of life. The risk of AD was slightly increased in children with neonatal jaundice ( IRR 1.13 [95% CI 1.06-1.21]). Preterm birth was inversely associated with the risk of AD ( IRR 0.74, [95% CI 0.68-0.81]) as well as low birthweight ( IRR 0.68, [95% CI 0.61-0.75]). Children born in fall and winter seasons had an increased risk of AD compared to spring and summer. No association between neonatal blue light therapy and the risk of AD was found. Conclusions Low birthweight and preterm birth were inversely associated with AD, while neonatal jaundice and cold seasons of birth were associated with an increased risk of AD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Nephrogenic systemic fibrosis is a debilitating and painful disorder with an increased stimulation of the connective tissue in the skin and systemic tissues. The disease is associated with exposure to gadolinium-based contrast agent used in magnetic resonance imaging in patients with renal impairment. Methods: The prevalence of nephrogenic systemic fibrosis has so far never been determined at a national level. In 2009, Denmark was the first country to design a guideline for the tracing of nephrogenic systemic fibrosis patients. The aim of this paper is to communicate the main findings of this quest. Results: The outcome of the nationwide investigation revealed that Denmark had 65 patients with nephrogenic systemic fibrosis and thereby the highest prevalence of nephrogenic systemic fibrosis worldwide with 65 per 5.6 million inhabitants, or 12 per million. Conclusions: The nationwide investigation in Denmark revealed the highest prevalence of NSF worldwide. This may be rooted in a high level of awareness of NSF both among doctors, politicians and, not least, the media, combined with the fact that a nationwide NSF investigation was initiated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

OBJECTIVE--Psoriasis is associated with increased risk of cardiovascular events and increased prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors. Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a major contributor to cardiovascular morbidity and mortality that may be associated with psoriasis, but conflicting results have been presented and nationwide data on the risk of new-onset DM in patients with psoriasis have not been reported. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS--The study comprised a Danish population ≥10 years of age on 1 January 1997 who were followed until new-onset DM, death, or 31 December 2009. Information on comorbidity, concomitant medication, and socioeconomic status was linked on an individual level. The primary study end point was DM requiring pharmacotherapy. Incidence rates for the development of DM events per 1,000 observational years were calculated and adjusted. Incidence rate ratios (IRRs) were estimated by Poisson regression. RESULTS--A total of 4,614,807 subjects were eligible for analysis, with a maximum follow-up of 13 years. In the study period, 52,613 patients with psoriasis, including 6,784 patients with severe psoriasis, were identified. The overall incidence rates for new-onset DM were 3.67 (CI 3.65-3.69), 6.93 (6.63-7.25), and 9.65 (8.68-10.73) for the reference population, mild psoriasis, and severe psoriasis, respectively. Compared with the reference population, the IRR of new-onset DM was increased in all patients with psoriasis, i.e., IRR 1.49 (CI 1.43-1.56) and 2.13 (1.91-2.37) for those with mild and severe psoriasis. CONCLUSIONS--In this nationwide cohort, psoriasis was associated with increased incidence rates of new-onset DM. The association remained statistically significant after adjustment for confounding factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

SummaryUltraviolet B radiation (280–320 nm) can initiate skin cancer as well as suppress the immune system, thereby preventing the rejection of ultraviolet-B-induced tumors. Recently we reported that there was not only a correlation but also a functional link between dermal mast cell prevalence and susceptibility to ultraviolet-B-induced systemic immunosuppression in multiple strains of mice. In this study, we investigated whether increased dermal mast cell prevalence is a significant predisposing factor for basal cell carcinoma development in humans. In 21 Danes with a history of basal cell carcinoma and 20 control subjects of similar age, sex, skin phototype, and recreational sun exposure over the past 12 mo, dermal mast cell prevalence was quantified on non-sun-exposed buttock skin. We investigated this skin site in order to avoid any changes in mast cell prevalence caused by sun exposure and assumed that the prevalence of mast cells in buttock skin correlated with that at sun-exposed sites at critical times in the development of basal cell carcinomas. Patients with a history of basal cell carcinoma had a significantly higher median dermal mast cell prevalence than control subjects (p = 0.01, Mann–Whitney U ). No correlation was observed between dermal mast cell prevalence and age of basal cell carcinoma patients and control subjects. These results suggest that increased dermal mast cell prevalence is a predisposing factor for basal cell carcinoma development in humans. We hypothesize that mast cells function in humans, as in mice, by initiating immunosuppression and thereby allowing a permissive environment for basal cell carcinoma development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: It is unknown if an unhealthy diet can affect the risk of developing psoriasis., Objectives: To test the hypothesis that individuals with an unhealthy diet have an increased risk of prevalent and incident psoriasis., Methods: We included 105 332 adults from the Copenhagen General Population Study, who were invited to participate between 2003 and 2015. The response rate was 43%. An unhealthy vs. healthy diet was defined according to adherence to general national dietary guidelines. The participants were grouped into three groups: low, intermediate and high adherence to general national dietary guidelines; this was based on information from a food frequency questionnaire. Identification of psoriasis was made using International Classification of Diseases codes., Results: Of the 105 332 individuals, 580 had a diagnosis of psoriasis at the time of enrolment and 640 received a diagnosis during the median follow-up of 9 years. Risk of prevalent psoriasis increased according to nonadherence to general national dietary guidelines in a stepwise manner with an age- and sex-adjusted odds ratio of 1.70 (95% confidence interval 1.26-2.30) in individuals with low vs. high adherence to dietary guidelines. Results were similar in a multivariable-adjusted model. Prospective analyses adjusted for age and sex showed a weak association between nonadherence to dietary guidelines and risk of incident psoriasis (P for trend 0.04). This association disappeared, when adjusting for multiple confounders (P for trend 0.50)., Conclusions: Although individuals with psoriasis have an unhealthier diet, diet alone does not appear to independently increase the risk of developing psoriasis., Competing Interests: Conflicts of interest C.N.-K. has served as an investigator for Galderma, AbbVie, LEO Pharma, Novartis and CSL Behring. L.S. has received research funding from Novartis, Bristol-Myers Squibb, AbbVie, Janssen Pharmaceuticals, the Danish National Psoriasis Foundation, the LEO Foundation and the Kgl Hofbundtmager Aage Bang Foundation, and honoraria as consultant and/or speaker for AbbVie, Eli Lilly, Novartis, Pfizer and LEO Pharma, Janssen Cilag, UCB, Almirall, Bristol-Myers Squibb and Sanofi. She has served as an investigator for AbbVie, Pfizer, Sanofi, Janssen Cilag, Boehringer Ingelheim, AstraZeneca, Eli Lilly, Novartis, Regeneron, Galderma and LEO Pharma. The other authors declare no conflicts of interest., (© The Author(s) 2024. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of British Association of Dermatologists. All rights reserved. For commercial re-use, please contact reprints@oup.com for reprints and translation rights for reprints. All other permissions can be obtained through our RightsLink service via the Permissions link on the article page on our site—for further information please contact journals.permissions@oup.com.)

Background: Psoriasis is a chronic skin disease associated with lower quality of life and higher risk of anxiety and depression in adults. We investigate whether adolescents with psoriasis also experience poorer mental health than their peers., Methods: In this cross-sectional study, we included questionnaire data on psoriasis and mental health from the 18-year follow-up of the Danish National Birth Cohort. We estimated odds ratios (OR) and 95 % confidence intervals (CI) using a logistic regression with inverse probability weighting to account for potential selection bias, adjusted for potential confounders identified a priori. We estimated associations between self-reported psoriasis and multiple aspects of mental health (self-rated health, life satisfaction, mental well-being, loneliness, overall and internalizing behavioral difficulties, depressive symptoms, and anxiety symptoms). In sensitivity analyses, we examined doctor-diagnosed psoriasis and psoriasis with and without joint pain., Results: Of the 44,838 included in this study, 1147 (2.6 %) reported psoriasis. Adolescents with psoriasis had a higher risk of nearly all outcomes, including depressive symptoms (OR 1.38; 1.19-1.58) and panic/agoraphobia among both males (OR 1.72; 1.33-2.19) and females (OR 1.60; 1.33-1.92). Associations attenuated when restricted to doctor-diagnosed psoriasis. Associations with poor mental health were mainly observed for adolescents with psoriasis also reporting joint pain., Limitations: We could not establish temporality and lacked data on joint pain in referents., Conclusion: Psoriasis is associated with poor mental health in adolescents. This appears to be driven by adolescents with psoriasis also reporting joint pain and is less evident in those with a doctor-confirmed diagnosis., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest SLB, KSL, LC, JG, and AMNA declare that there is no conflict of interest. LS has received research funding from Novartis, Bristol-Myers Squibb, AbbVie, Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Sanofi, Almirall, the LEO Foundation and the Kgl. Hofbuntmager Aage Bangs Fond, and honoraria as consultant and/or speaker from AbbVie, Almirall, Leo Pharma, Pfizer, Eli Lilly, Novartis, Sanofi, UCB, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Boehringer Ingelheim, and Janssen Pharmaceuticals. CZ has been a paid speaker for Eli Lilly, Novartis, CSL and LEO Pharma, and has been a consultant or has served on Advisory Boards with AbbVie, Janssen Cilag, Novartis, Eli Lilly, LEO Pharma, UCB, Almirall, Takeda, Amgen and CSL., (Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Atopic diseases such as atopic dermatitis, food allergy, allergic rhinoconjunctivitis, and/or asthma are common. In Denmark, however, there are multiple referral pathways for these diseases in the healthcare system and they are poorly understood. To describe how children with atopic diseases navigate their way through the Danish healthcare system, a questionnaire was distributed to children aged ≤ 17 years, who were being treated for atopic diseases between August 2020 and June 2021, either by a practising specialist or a hospital department, in the Capital Region of Denmark. A total of 279 children completed the questionnaire and most were referred to a specialist or to a hospital by their general practitioner. No "common track" to hospital existed for patients with ≥ 3 atopic diseases. These patients were more often referred to a hospital compared with children with 2 atopic diseases or fewer (odds ratio [OR] 3.79; 95% CI 2.07-7.24). The primary determinants for hospital treatment were food allergy (OR 4.69; 95% CI 2.07-10.61) and asthma (OR 2.58; 95% CI 1.18-5.63). In conclusion, children with multiple atopic diseases were more likely to be referred to hospital departments than to practising specialists, mainly due to food allergies.

Whether response to an interleukin (IL-17) inhibitor is different in patients with previous exposure to an IL-17 inhibitor compared with patients with exposure to biologics with other cytokine targets remains to be elucidated. Therefore, the aim of this study was to  assess whether previous exposure to an IL-17A inhibitor was associated with worse response than exposure to (an)other biologic(s). All patients in the DERMBIO register treated with an IL-17A inhibitor (secukinumab or ixekizumab) were included. With an absolute Psoriasis Area and Severity Index (PASI) ≤ 2 as response, the proportion of responders treated with IL-17A inhibitors was assessed in patients previously treated with another IL-17A inhibitor and compared with patients with previous exposure to (an)other biologic(s), using a χ2 test. In total, 100, 93 and 83 patients with  previous exposure to an IL-17A inhibitor and 414, 372 and 314 patients with previous exposure to (an) other biologic(s) were assessed after 3, 6 and 12 months, respectively. No differences in the proportion of  patients achieving PASI ≤ 2 were observed between the 2 groups after 3 months (54% vs 57%, p = 0.59), 6months (70% vs 66%, p = 0.42) and 12 months (69% vs 60%, p = 0.14). In conclusion, when treating patients with IL-17A inhibitors the cytokine target of the previous biologic does not appear to affect the  response.

Importance: Tumor necrosis factor-α inhibitor (TNFi)-associated psoriasis is a rare adverse event following TNFi treatment. Data on the risk of developing TNFi-associated psoriasis when treated with TNFi are sparse., Objective: To investigate the associated risk between new-onset psoriasis and TNFi treatment compared with nonbiologic conventional treatment., Design, Setting, and Participants: Using Danish national registries (1995-2018), this cohort study included patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and/or rheumatoid arthritis (RA) who received either conventional therapy or TNFi treatment. Patients may not have been diagnosed with psoriasis prior to initiation of treatment. Patients were followed up for up to 5 years. Cox regression models with robust variance were used to compare the risk of developing any type of psoriasis, nonpustular psoriasis, and pustular psoriasis. Patients receiving conventional therapy were used as reference. Data analysis was performed from January 1995 to December 2018., Exposures: For the present study, the term conventional therapy was used for the nonbiological therapy. For biological therapy, a distinction was made between TNFi treatment and non-TNFi biological therapy., Main Outcomes and Measures: The outcome of psoriasis was defined as a registered International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems, Tenth Revision code of psoriasis and/or having 2 consecutive prescriptions of topical vitamin D analogues., Results: The study included 109 085 patients, of which 62% were female. Median (IQR) age was 50 (34-64) years. Of the included patients, 108 024 received conventional therapy and 20 910 received TNFi treatment. During follow-up, 1471 (1.4%) patients developed any type of psoriasis, of which 1332 developed nonpustular psoriasis, 127 patients developed palmoplantar pustulosis, and 12 patients developed generalized pustulosis. The incidence rates for developing any type of psoriasis per 1000 patient-years were 3.0 (95% CI, 2.9-3.2) for conventional therapy and 7.8 (95% CI, 7.5-8.9) for TNFi. During treatment with TNFi, the hazard ratio was 2.12 (95% CI, 1.87-2.40; P < .001) for developing nonpustular psoriasis and 6.50 (95% CI, 4.60-9.23; P < .001) for pustular psoriasis compared with conventional treatment. Exposure needed for 1 additional patient to be harmed was 241 patient-years for any type of TNFi-associated psoriasis, 342 patient-years for nonpustular psoriasis, and 909 patient-years for pustular psoriasis., Conclusions and Relevance: In a Danish nationwide cohort of patients with immune-mediated inflammatory diseases treated with TFNi or conventional treatment and no history of psoriasis, in TFNi-treated patients, nonpustular types of psoriasis constituted the most events, whereas pustular types of psoriasis had the highest relative risk. Although the risk of new-onset psoriasis increased for both nonpustular and pustular types of psoriasis in TFNi-treated patients, the absolute risk remained modest at 241 patient-years of exposure need for 1 additional event and an estimated absolute risk difference around 5 per 1000 patient-years, indicating that the approach to treatment of patients in need of TNFi treatment should not change.

Data from real-world use of new systemic treatments in atopic dermatitis (AD) is important for assessing safety and efficacy. The aim of this study is to describe the baseline characteristics of adult patients with moderate-to-severe AD enrolled in the Danish nationwide Severe and ChRonic Atopic dermatitis Treatment CoHort (SCRATCH) database, between October 2017 and August 2021. A total of 282 adult patients were included. Most (62%) were men, the median age at baseline was 43 years (interquartile range (IQR) 29-54 years), and median age at onset of AD was 1 year (IQR 0-6 years). The median Eczema Area and Severity Index at treatment initiation was 19.1 (IQR 11.9-25.7); median Patient Oriented Eczema Measure 21.0 (IQR 16.0-25.0); median Dermatology Life Quality Index 13.0 (IQR 7.0-19.0); and median itch and sleep numerical rating scale scores 8.0 (IQR 6.0-9.0) and 6.0 (IQR 4.0-8.0). Differences were found between the sexes. This registry will provide a source for future efficacy and safety studies.

Identifying patient characteristics associated with achieving treatment response to biologics in patients with psoriasis could prevent expensive switching between biologics. The aim of this study was to identify patient characteristics that predict the efficacy of treatment for biologics that inhibit tumour necrosis factor-α, interleukin-12/-23, and -17A. The study investigated biologic-naïve patients from the DERMBIO registry treated with adalimumab, etanercept, infliximab, secukinumab, or ustekinumab. Multivariable logistic models were conducted to assess associations between patient characteristics and treatment response. A total of 2,384 patients were included (adalimumab n = 911; etanercept n = 327; infliximab n = 152; secukinumab n = 323; ustekinumab n = 671). Smoking (odds ratio 0.74; 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.56-0.97; p = 0.03) and higher bodyweight (odds ratio 0.989; 95% CI 0.984-0.994; p < 0.001) reduced the odds of achieving response defined as Psoriasis Area and Severity Index ≤2.0 after 6 months of treatment. In conclusion, higher bodyweight and smoking were associated with a reduced probability of treatment response for tumour necrosis factor-α inhibitors, ustekinumab, and secukinumab.

This study used a nationwide e-based survey of patients with psoriasis to assess the pattern of musculoskeletal pain and its influence on patient-reported outcomes, including health-related quality of life and disability. A total of 561 respondents (56% of the screened psoriasis patients) reported physician-diagnosed psoriasis and completed the questionnaire. Respondents were grouped based on the presence of musculoskeletal pain and/or diagnosed psoriatic arthritis: 81% had psoriasis without arthritis (29% pain now, 23% pain previously, 39% no pain ever), and 19% had psoriatic arthritis. Patients with psoriasis with pain now had poorer quality of life compared with patients without pain and, importantly, similar to that of patients with arthritis. Furthermore, patients with pain now/previously reported higher self-assessed severity of psoriasis and lower satisfaction with current treatment than patients without pain. Two-thirds of patients with psoriasis with pain now/previously and one-third of patients with arthritis had never been examined by a rheumatologist, demonstrating an unmet need for adequate evaluation of such patients. A nationwide e-based survey of patients with psoriasis was preformed to assess the pattern of musculoskeletal pain and its influence on patient-reported outcomes, including health-related quality of life and disability. A total of 561 respondents (56% of the screened psoriasis patients) reported physician- diagnosed psoriasis and completed the questionnaire. Respondents were grouped based on the presence of musculoskeletal pain and/or diagnosed psoriatic arthritis: 81% had psoriasis without arthritis (29% pain now, 23% pain previously, 39% no pain ever), and 19% had psoriatic arthritis. Patients with psoriasis with pain now had poorer quality of life compared with patients without pain and, importantly, similar to that of patients with arthritis. Furthermore, patients with pain now/previously reported higher self-assessed severity of psoriasis and lower satisfaction with current treatment than patients without pain. Two-thirds of patients with psoriasis with pain now/previously and one-third of patients with arthritis had never been examined by a rheumatologist, demonstrating an unmet need for adequate evaluation of such patients.

Objective: The antimalaria 4-aminoquinoline drugs chloroquine and HCQ are used in the treatment of a wide range of CTDs. Data to inform on the safety of their use in pregnancy are limited., Methods: In a Danish nationwide cohort study from 1996 through 2016, we identified 4-aminoquinoline-exposed pregnancies from a cohort of 1 240 875 pregnancies to investigate the associated risks of major birth defects, preterm birth, and small size for gestational age (SGA). Distinct study cohorts of propensity-score-matched 4-aminoquinoline-exposed and unexposed pregnancies (in a 1:1 ratio) were established for each outcome analysis. The association with the outcomes was assessed by prevalence odds ratios (ORs) estimated through logistic regression. The associated risks for chloroquine and HCQ were individually assessed through additional analyses., Results: A total of 1487 pregnancies exposed to 4-aminoquinolines (1184 chloroquine- and 303 HCQ-exposed) were identified. Among the 983 pregnancies exposed to 4-aminoquinolines in the first trimester, 34 infants (3.5%) were diagnosed with major birth defects as compared with 36 (3.7%) among the matched unexposed pregnancies (prevalence OR, 0.94; 95% CI: 0.59, 1.52). Exposure to 4-aminoquinolines in pregnancy was neither associated with an increased risk of preterm birth (prevalence OR, 0.97; 95% CI: 0.73, 1.28) or SGA (prevalence OR, 1.18; 95% CI: 0.93, 1.50), compared with unexposed pregnancies. No significant associations between exposure to chloroquine or HCQ individually and risk of the outcomes were identified., Conclusion: Among pregnancies exposed to 4-aminoquinolines (chloroquine and HCQ), no increased risk of major birth defects, preterm birth, or SGA was identified., (© The Author(s) 2020. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the British Society for Rheumatology. All rights reserved. For permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.)

Early response to treatment with biologics might be important for the stability of psoriasis and long-term outcome. The aim of this study was therefore to assess whether risk of flares and drug survival are associated with disease activity in the first 6 months of treatment of psoriasis with biologics. Biologic-naïve patients from the Danish nationwide registry, DERMBIO, were grouped based on absolute Psoriasis Area and Severity Index (PASI) during the first 6 months of treatment, as: PASI = 0, PASI > 0-≤2, PASI > 2-≤ 4, and PASI > 4. Among 1,684 patients, 746 achieved PASI= 0, 485 PASI > 0-≤2, 246 PASI > 2-≤4, and 207 PASI > 4. Longer flare-free period and drug survival were observed for patients with lower PASI in the first 6 months of treatment (adjusted hazard ratios for flares (95% confidence interval) with PASI=  0 as reference: PASI > 0-≤2 (1.35 (1.11-1.72]), PASI > 2-≤ 4 (2.32 [1.80-2.99]), and PASI > 4 (2.38 [1.80-3.15])). In conclusion, a low PASI in the first 6 months of treatment with biologics in biologic-naïve patients with psoriasis was associated with a more stable disease course, lower risk of flares, and longer drug survival.

Background: Tobacco smoking is implicated in psoriasis among adults., Objective: To determine whether prenatal, infantile, and childhood tobacco exposure increase risk of pediatric psoriasis., Methods: Data from Danish National Birth Cohort participants were collected at approximately gestational week 12 and when the children were approximately 6 months and 11 years of age. In total, 25 812 offspring with complete data from the Danish National Birth Cohort were included. We estimated the odds of pediatric psoriasis with tobacco exposure prenatally, from birth to age 6 months (early infancy), and at age 11 years (childhood)., Results: We observed an increased risk of pediatric psoriasis among offspring with prenatal tobacco exposure (adjusted odds ratio [OR], 1.39; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.06-1.82). An exposure-response relationship was observed for increasing quantities of cigarettes smoked daily (≥16 cigarettes: adjusted OR, 2.92; 95% CI, 1.20-7.10; P for trend = .038). The associations with infantile (adjusted OR, 1.17; 95% CI, 0.76-1.79) and childhood (adjusted OR, 1.10; 95% CI, 0.77-1.58) tobacco exposure were attenuated after controlling for prenatal exposure., Limitations: Outcome status was maternally reported., Conclusions: Prenatal tobacco exposure may increase the risk of pediatric psoriasis in a monotonic fashion, indicating that smoking may play a causal role in psoriasis pathogenesis., (Copyright © 2019 American Academy of Dermatology, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Introduction: Skin barrier development and dysfunction in premature and mature newborns is important for the risk of atopic dermatitis (AD)., Methods and Analysis: The Barrier dysfunction in Atopic newBorns studY (BABY) Cohort is a prospective birth cohort study of 150 preterm children (gestational age (GA) below 37+0) and 300 term children (GA 37+0 to 41+6). Skin barrier is assessed through transepidermal water loss, tape stripping, Raman-spectroscopy and microbiome sampling. Clinical examinations are done and DNA from buccal swabs is collected for genetic analyses. Thymus size is assessed by ultrasound examination. Information on pregnancy, delivery, parental exposures and diseases are collected, and structured telephone interviews are conducted at 18 and 24 months to assess exogenous exposures in the child and onset of AD. Hanifin and Rajka criteria as well as The UK Working Party's Diagnostic Criteria for Atopic Dermatitis are used to diagnose AD. Severity of AD is assessed using the Eczema Area and Severity Index (EASI) and Patient Oriented Eczema Measure (POEM)., Ethics and Dissemination: The study is approved by the scientific Ethical Committee of the Capital Region (H-16042289 and H-16042294).Outcomes will be presented at national and international conferences and in peer-reviewed publications., Competing Interests: Competing interests: JPT reports grants from The Leo Foundation, The Novo Nordisk Foundation, Pfizer, The Lundbeck Foundation and grants from Savværksejer Jeppe Juhl og hustru Ovita Juhls Mindelegat, during the conduct of the study. JPT has been an advisor, investigator and speaker for AbbVie, Regeneron, Pfizer, Sanofi Genzyme, LEO Pharma and Eli Lilly and Company.LS reports personal fees from AbbVie, Eli Lilly, Novartis, Sanofi, Celgene, LEO Pharma and Almirall, outside the submitted work. LS reports non-financial support from AbbVie, Sanofi, Janssen and grants from Novartis, Janssen and Sanofi.TG, A-SH-H, MRR, NHR and MHK report grants from Herlev and Gentofte Hospital Research Foundation during the conduct of the study., (© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2020. Re-use permitted under CC BY-NC. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.)

Background: Streptococcal tonsillitis has been implicated in psoriasis; however, few population studies have examined its role in the pediatric population., Objective: To investigate the association between tonsillitis and pediatric psoriasis., Methods: Data from the Danish National Birth Cohort were obtained on parentally reported psoriasis by age 11 years and history of tonsillitis at ages 6 to 18 months, 10 to 11 years, and (from hospital patient registry data) 0 to 11 years. We estimated odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) of pediatric psoriasis using logistic regression analyses., Results: In total, 35 188 offspring were eligible for analyses. Tonsillitis at 6 to 18 months was not associated with pediatric psoriasis (adjusted OR, 0.73; 95% CI, 0.47-1.14), nor was recent tonsillitis at ages 10 to 11 years (adjusted OR, 1.09; 95% CI, 0.81-1.47). However, recurrent tonsillitis between ages 10 to 11 was strongly associated with pediatric psoriasis (adjusted OR, 2.28; 95% CI, 1.17-4.48). Our results for streptococcal tonsillitis indicated a potential association (adjusted OR, 2.12; 95% CI, 0.86-5.17)., Limitations: It was not possible to clarify the temporal relationship between tonsillitis and pediatric psoriasis., Conclusion: Recurrent tonsillitis is of clinical relevance to pediatric psoriasis., (Copyright © 2019 American Academy of Dermatology, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

The initiation and evaluation of treatment with biologics for psoriasis is based on the Psoriasis Area Severity Index (PASI) and/or Dermatological Life Quality Index (DLQI). However, these indices do not always correlate well, and changes in the DLQI do not always follow changes in the PASI. Based on data from the Danish national registry (DERMBIO), this study investigated the correlation between changes in PASI and DLQI in a cohort of patients with moderate-to-severe psoriasis treated with biologics or apremilast using Spearman's rank correlation analyses. The correlation analysis of 1,677 patients, of whom 276 had available data after 5 years, showed weak-to-moderate correlation between PASI and DLQI during a 5-year period and between changes in PASI and DLQI: 0.58 (p < 0.0001) for baseline to 3 months and 0.42 (p < 0.0001) for 3 to 12 months. The first question on "Symptoms and feelings" made up the largest proportion of the overall DLQI. The correlation between PASI and DLQI is weak-to-moderate and varies over time. Changes in PASI correlate weak-to-moderately with changes in DLQI during the first 12 months of treatment, with symptoms being the most important factor contributing to impaired quality of life.

Purpose: Psoriasis is a chronic inflammatory skin disease that frequently debuts in childhood and adolescence. We wished to determine environmental and genetic risk factors for the development of psoriasis in children and adolescents, as well as to investigate debut type, trigger factors, course of disease, nature and influence of stress related to both child and family and risk factors for comorbidity. The 'Psoriasis in Adolescents' (PIA) cohort will provide data on the relationship between psoriasis and, respectively, genetic disposition, early-life exposures, quality of life and comorbidity., Participants: The PIA cohort is nested in the large general population Danish National Birth Cohort (DNBC). We invited 390 adolescents with psoriasis and corresponding maternally predisposed and non-predisposed controls. Participants underwent an interview and a clinical examination consisting of a skin inspection and physical measurements including blood sampling and microbiological swabs. Additionally, four self-administered questionnaires on physical and mental health were completed., Findings to Date: The final PIA cohort consists of 81 adolescents with psoriasis, 110 parentally predisposed and 124 non-predisposed psoriasis-free adolescents. The validity of the maternally reported psoriasis status from the DNBC was found to be low on clinical examination (47.5%). In contrast, the self-reported psoriasis status of the DNBC mothers was clinically confirmed in 80.8% of the cases., Future Plans: The PIA cohort offers the possibility of assessing the clinical characteristics, course of psoriasis and development of comorbidities in adolescents with clinically confirmed disease from a general population. Comparison with predisposed and non-predisposed controls is possible and genetic analyses are scheduled. We plan to invite the participants for a follow-up in 5-10 years. Furthermore, we plan to include newly diagnosed adolescents with psoriasis from the 18-year DNBC follow-up. All information is linkable on the individual level with data from the DNBC and nationwide registries in Denmark., Competing Interests: Competing interests: None declared., (© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2019. Re-use permitted under CC BY-NC. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.)

Background: Biologics targeting interleukin 17 are increasingly being used for treatment of moderate-to-severe psoriasis, but data on drug survival for these therapies remain scarce., Objectives: To investigate the drug survival of secukinumab and ixekizumab in a nationwide cohort of patients with psoriasis in Denmark., Methods: Using DERMBIO, we examined Danish patients receiving treatment with secukinumab or ixekizumab according to the standard in-label dosing. Kaplan-Meier plots were used to present survival curves., Results: In all, 368 and 62 patients received treatment with secukinumab and ixekizumab, respectively. In total, 40.7% and 12.9% of secukinumab- and ixekizumab-treated patients were bionaive. Ixekizumab-treated patients had received significantly more previous treatments. Over 12 months, 23.5% and 0.0% of bionaive secukinumab- and ixekizumab-treated patients discontinued therapy, respectively. Drug survival for bionaive and non-naive patients was lower for secukinumab than for ixekizumab. During the maximum 3 years of follow-up, secukinumab drug survival was lowest for patients who had previously been treated with 2 or more biologics, followed by patients treated with secukinumab as their second-ever biologic., Limitations: The total number of patients and follow-up time were modest., Conclusions: Drug survival was higher for ixekizumab even though secukinumab-treated patients had been treated with significantly fewer biologics before starting this drug., (Copyright © 2019 American Academy of Dermatology, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Psoriasis is associated with cardiometabolic comorbidity; however, whether this is due to common lifestyle-related risk factors is unclear. This study investigated the association between psoriasis and cardiometabolic comorbidity, taking body mass index and smoking into account. The population comprised expectant mothers in the Danish National Birth Cohort (established 1996-2002). During pregnancy, the women were asked about physician-diagnosed psoriasis. Any association with self-reported cardiometabolic comorbidity 11 years later was assessed using logistic regression. The cohort was also followed up for hospital-diagnosed comorbidity, including cardiac death, until 31 December 2014, and the risk was assessed using Cox regression. A total of 2,435 women with psoriasis (2.90%) and 81,388 women without were identified. Psoriasis was significantly associated with self-reported hypercholesterolaemia (adjusted odds ratio 1.31; 1.01-1.70) and hospital-diagnosed hypertension (adjusted hazard ratio 1.33; 1.08-1.65). Women with psoriasis have an increased risk of developing cardiometabolic comorbidity in early adult life.

Optimal clinical management of psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis (PsA) Optimal clinical management of psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis (PsA) requires understanding of the impact on patients. The NORdic PAtient survey of Psoriasis and PsA (NORPAPP) aimed to obtain current data on disease prevalence and patient perceptions in Sweden, Denmark and Norway. Among 22,050 individuals questioned, the reported prevalence of psoriasis and/or PsA was 9.7% (5.7% physician-diagnosed plus 4.0% self-diagnosed only); prevalence was similar in Sweden (9.4%) and Denmark (9.2%) but significantly higher in Norway (11.9%). Of those reporting a physician's diagnosis, 74.6% reported psoriasis alone, 10.3% PsA alone and 15.1% both. Patients with PsA perceived their disease to be more severe than those with psoriasis; patients with PsA and psoriasis reported greater disease severity than those with each condition alone. Patient's perceptions of psoriasis severity correlated weakly (Spearman's rho 0.42) with clinical severity; both patient perceptions and clinical measures are important in the assessment and management of psoriasis.

Background: Contact allergy is common in children, but may be underdiagnosed. Importantly, the clinical relevance of specific allergies is subject to constant change, and it is therefore important to continuously monitor the trends and changes of contact allergies in the paediatric population., Objectives: To identify possible changes in contact allergy and allergic contact dermatitis among Danish children referred for patch testing., Methods: A retrospective study was performed based on patch test data from the Danish National Database of Contact allergy. The current data were compared with previously published data on Danish children referred for patch testing., Results: Between 2012 and 2016, 1573 children and adolescents were patch tested. Overall, 385 (24.5%) had at least 1 positive patch test reaction. The overall prevalence was similar in boys and girls, across age groups, and in patients with and without atopic dermatitis. Statistically significant increases in contact allergy to fragrances and isothiazoliones were seen, whereas a decrease in nickel allergy was found., Conclusion: Allergic contact dermatitis continues to be a common disease in children, and is even significantly increasing for some allergens., (© 2018 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Background: Adult atopic dermatitis (AD) has been associated with several comorbidities, but cause-specific mortality risk is unknown., Objective: To examine cause-specific death rates and risk in adults with AD., Methods: We performed cross-linkage of nationwide health care and cause of death registers. Adult patients with AD were matched with 10 controls per study subject. We calculated incidence rates per 1000 person-years and hazard ratios (HRs) of cause-specific death with 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs) using Cox proportional hazards models., Results: A total of 8686 patients and 86,860 matched controls were studied. The risk for death due to any cause was significantly increased in patients with AD (HR 1.27, 95%CI 1.11-1.45). Significant causes included cardiovascular (HR 1.45; 95% CI 1.07-1.96), infectious (HR 3.71; 95% CI 1.43-9.60), and urogenital diseases (HR 5.51; 95% CI 1.54-19.80). No increased risk for death due to cancer, endocrine, neurologic, psychiatric, respiratory, or gastroenterologic disease was observed., Limitations: The results might not be generalizable to patients seen exclusively by primary care physicians., Conclusion: Adults with atopic dermatitis had slightly increased risk for death during follow-up. While the risk for death from cardiovascular, urogenital, and infectious diseases was slightly elevated among patients with AD, the absolute risk was very low., (Copyright © 2017 American Academy of Dermatology, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Psoriasis and multiple sclerosis (MS) are inflammatory disorders with similarities in genetic risk variants and inflammatory pathways. Limited evidence is available on the relationship between the two diseases. We therefore investigated the risk of incident (new-onset) MS in patients with mild and severe psoriasis, respectively. All Danish citizens aged ≥ 18 years from 1 January 1997 to 31 December 2011 were identified by linkage of nationwide registries at the individual level. We estimated incidence rate ratios (IRRs) adjusted for age, gender, socioeconomic status, smoking, medication, comorbidity, and UV phototherapy by Poisson regression. There were 58,628 and 9,952 cases of mild and severe psoriasis, respectively, and 9,713 cases of MS. Incidence rates of MS per 10,000 person-years for the reference population, mild psoriasis, and severe psoriasis were 1.78, 3.22, and 4.55, respectively. Adjusted IRRs of MS were 1.84 (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.46-2.30) and 2.61 (95% CI, 1.44-4.74) in mild and severe psoriasis, respectively. Similar results were observed when adjustment for family history of MS was included in the analyses. Psoriasis may confer a disease severity-dependent risk of MS. Further studies are warranted to establish the mechanisms underlying this relationship and its potential clinical consequences., (Copyright © 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: Psoriasis and migraine are common conditions with potential overlap of pathophysiological mechanisms. Both these diseases have been associated with increased cardiovascular risk but little is known about their interplay., Objective: We sought to investigate the link between psoriasis, and the risk of new-onset migraine, in a nationwide cohort of the Danish population., Methods: Data on all Danish citizens aged 18 years or older from January 1, 1997, to December 31, 2011, were linked at individual-level in nationwide registers. Incidence rates per 1000 person-years were calculated and crude and adjusted incidence rate ratios were estimated by Poisson regression models., Results: The study comprised a total of 5,379,859 individuals, including 53,006 and 6831 patients with mild and severe psoriasis, respectively, and 6243 patients with psoriatic arthritis. Fully adjusted incidence rate ratios for migraine were 1.37 (95% confidence interval 1.30-1.45), 1.55 (95% confidence interval 1.29-1.86), and 1.92 (95% confidence interval 1.65-2.22) for mild psoriasis, severe psoriasis, and psoriatic arthritis, respectively. Stratification for sex revealed increased risk of migraine in both male and female patients., Limitations: We were unable to distinguish between subtypes of migraine, eg, migraine with and without aura., Conclusions: Psoriasis was associated with a disease severity-dependent increased risk of migraine independent of measured confounders. Further studies are warranted to determine the effects of antipsoriatic treatment on this association, and whether migraine modifies the psoriasis-associated risk of cardiovascular disease., (Copyright © 2015 American Academy of Dermatology, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Importance: Psoriasis, psoriatic arthritis, and uveitis are inflammatory disorders with significant overlap in their inflammatory pathways. Limited evidence is available about the relationship between psoriatic disease and uveitis., Objective: To investigate the potential bidirectional relationship between psoriatic disease, including psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis, and uveitis., Design, Setting, and Participants: We performed a nationwide cohort study of the Danish population from January 1, 1997, through December 31, 2011. We included 74,129 Danish patients with psoriasis who were 18 years or older during the study period. Patients were identified through administrative registries, and information on age, sex, socioeconomic status, medication, and comorbidity was obtained using individual-level linkage of administrative registers. We performed data analysis from January 27 through March 4, 2015., Exposures: Diagnosis of mild or severe psoriasis or psoriatic arthritis for uveitis risk and diagnosis of uveitis for the risk for psoriasis or psoriatic arthritis., Main Outcomes and Measures: Diagnosis of uveitis, mild psoriasis, severe psoriasis, or psoriatic arthritis. We calculated incidence rates (IRs) and estimated IR ratios adjusted for potential confounders using Poisson regression., Results: We identified 74,129 cases of psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis and 13,114 cases of uveitis. The IRs (95% CIs) for uveitis were 2.02 (1.99-2.06), 2.88 (2.33-3.56), 4.23 (2.40-7.45), and 5.49 (3.36-8.96) for the reference population and those with mild psoriasis, severe psoriasis, and psoriatic arthritis, respectively. In the reference population, these IRs (95% CIs) were 9.37 (9.30-9.45), 1.12 (1.10-1.15), and 1.04 (1.01-1.06), and in patients with uveitis, these statistics were 15.51 (12.92-18.62), 2.66 (1.72-4.13), and 4.25 (3.00-6.01) for mild psoriasis, severe psoriasis, and psoriatic arthritis, respectively. Adjusted IR ratios (95% CIs) for uveitis were 1.38 (1.11-1.70 [P = .02]), 1.40 (0.70-2.81 [P = .34]), and 2.50 (1.53-4.08 [P < .001]) for patients with mild psoriasis, severe psoriasis, and psoriatic arthritis, respectively. For patients with uveitis, IR ratios (95% CIs) were 1.59 (1.32-1.91 [P < .001]) for mild psoriasis, 2.17 (1.40-3.38 [P < .001]) for severe psoriasis, and 3.77 (2.66-5.34 [P < .001]) for psoriatic arthritis, respectively., Conclusions and Relevance: We found a bidirectional association between psoriatic disease and uveitis. Increased focus on eye symptoms in patients with psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis and on skin and joint symptoms in patients with prior or current uveitis may be appropriate.

Aim: Psoriasis is a chronic inflammatory disease associated with increased risk of cardiovascular disease including atherosclerosis. The pathogenesis of aortic valve stenosis (AS) also includes an inflammatory component. We therefore investigated the risk of AS in patients with psoriasis compared with the general population in a nationwide cohort., Methods: The study comprised the entire Danish population aged ≥18 years followed from 1 January 1997 until diagnosis of AS, 31 December 2011, or death. Information on comorbidity, concomitant medication, and socioeconomic status was identified by individual-level linkage of administrative registers. Incidence rates for AS were calculated and incidence rate ratios (IRRs) adjusted for age, gender, calendar year, comorbidity, medications, and socioeconomic status, were estimated in Poisson regression models., Results: A total of 5 107 624 subjects were eligible for analysis. During the study period, we identified 58 747 patients with mild psoriasis and 11 918 patients with severe psoriasis. The overall incidence rates for AS were 8.09, 16.07, and 20.08 per 10 000 person-years for the reference population (48 539 cases [mean follow-up 12.3 years]), mild psoriasis (509 cases [mean follow-up 6.2 years]), and severe psoriasis (99 cases [mean follow-up 5.4 years]), respectively. Correspondingly, the fully adjusted IRRs for AS were markedly increased in patients with psoriasis with IRR 1.22 (95% confidence interval [CI] 1.12-1.33) and IRR 1.61 (CI 1.32-1.96) for subjects with mild and severe disease, respectively., Conclusion: In a nationwide cohort, psoriasis was associated with a disease severity-dependent increased risk of AS. The mechanisms underlying this novel finding require further study., (Published on behalf of the European Society of Cardiology. All rights reserved. © The Author 2015. For permissions please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.)

Background: Psoriasis is a chronic inflammatory skin disease, which is associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. Our aim was to compare the Framingham risk score, a method to estimate coronary heart disease and prevalences of cardiovascular risk factors in patients with psoriasis and the general population., Methods: We retrospectively studied a hospital cohort and used a cross-sectional random sample from the general population as controls., Results: A total of 185 patients with psoriasis aged 10-86 years were referred to our department during 2009-2011. Median psoriasis area and severity index score was 5.8 (range 0.0-39.8), and 10% of the patients received systemic antipsoriatic treatment. Body mass index (26.2 vs. 25.2 kg/m(2) , P = 0.005), waist circumference (96.0 vs. 88.0 cm, P < 0.001), and prevalence of hypercholesterolemia (15.1 vs. 14.5, P = 0.009) were significantly higher in patients with psoriasis. We found no significant differences in Framingham risk scores between the groups., Conclusions: Patients from the hospital cohort had a higher prevalence of certain cardiovascular risk factors compared to individuals without psoriasis from the general population. However, the Framingham risk score did not demonstrate an excess risk of coronary heart disease in patients with psoriasis compared to controls., (© 2013 The International Society of Dermatology.)

Aims: Psoriasis is a common inflammatory disease that is associated with increased risk of cardiovascular disease, including myocardial infarction. Heart failure (HF) is independently associated with several cardiovascular risk factors and is a major cause of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. The association between psoriasis and HF is unclear and we therefore investigated the risk of new-onset HF in a nationwide cohort of psoriasis patients compared with the background population., Methods: The study included the entire Danish population aged ≥18 years followed from 1 January 1997 until HF, death or 31 December 2011. Information on comorbidity and concomitant medication was identified by individual-level linkage of administrative registers. New-onset HF was defined as first hospital admission for HF. Incidence rates of new-onset HF were calculated and adjusted hazard ratios were estimated by multivariable Cox regression models adjusted for age, gender, comorbidity and cardiovascular medications., Results: A total of 5 485 856 subjects were eligible for analysis. In the study period 66 389 patients with new-onset psoriasis, including 11 242 patients with severe psoriasis, were identified. The overall incidence rates of new-onset HF were 2.82, 4.22 and 4.70 per 1000 person-years for the reference population, mild psoriasis and severe psoriasis, respectively. Compared with the reference population, the fully adjusted hazard ratios for new-onset HF were increased in patients with psoriasis with a hazard ratio 1.22 (95% confidence interval 1.16-1.29) and hazard ratio of 1.53 (95% confidence interval 1.34-1.74) for those with mild and severe disease, respectively., Conclusion: In this nationwide cohort, psoriasis was associated with a disease severity-dependent increased risk of new-onset HF., (© 2014 The Authors. European Journal of Heart Failure © 2014 European Society of Cardiology.)

Background: Epidemiological data have established an association between cardiovascular disease and psoriasis. Only one general population study has so far compared prevalences of cardiovascular risk factors among subjects with psoriasis and control subjects. We aimed to determine the prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors in subjects with and without psoriasis in the general population., Methods: During 2006-2008, a cross-sectional study was performed in the general population in Copenhagen, Denmark. A total of 3471 subjects participated in a general health examination that included assessment of current smoking status, weight, height, waist and hip circumferences, systolic and diastolic blood pressures, resting heart rate, and plasma lipids, hemoglobin A1c, fasting glucose, and insulin levels., Results: Physician-diagnosed psoriasis was reported by 238 (7.1%) of 3374 participants. There were no differences between subjects with and without psoriasis with regard to traditional cardiovascular risk factors., Conclusions: Our results contrast with the hitherto-reported increased prevalence of metabolic syndrome in subjects with psoriasis in the general U.S. population. However, our results agree with those of other previous studies in which the association between mild psoriasis and cardiovascular risk factors is often non-significant. Further controlled research is needed to describe the prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors in subjects with mainly mild to moderate psoriasis in the general population., (© 2012 The International Society of Dermatology.)