Clinico-epidemiological profile, including body mass index of Malaysian children with psoriasis.

Background: Limited information exists regarding paediatric psoriasis and its association with body mass index (bMI) in Asia.
Objectives: to determine the clinico-epidemiological profile and to compare the bMI of children with and without psoriasis.
Methods: A case-control study of 92 children with psoriasis versus 59 with atopic eczema and 56 with non-inflammatory skin conditions.
Results: Psoriasis was more common in Malay and Indian children when compared to Chinese with odds ratios (Or) of 4.30 (95% CI, 1.85-9.99) and 3.00 (95% CI, 1.02-8.81) respectively. Prevalence of psoriasis was similar between Malay and Indian children (Or 1.43, 95% CI, 0.63-3.25). Male:female ratio was 1:1.09. the mean onset age of psoriasis was 7.9 years. Median onset age was earlier in males (6.5 years versus 9.0 years in females, p=0.05). Plaque psoriasis was the most common phenotype (89.1%) and 94.5% had scalp lesions. Arthritis was seen in 4.3%. Odds of excess adiposity, defined as bMI ≤85th percentile, was higher in children with psoriasis versus noninflammatory controls (Or 2.35, 95% CI 0.99-5.56, p= 0.052). No increased risk of adiposity was noted between children with psoriasis and eczema (Or 1.14, 95% CI 0.5-2.62, p=0.753). More children with psoriasis (17.4%) and eczema (20.3%) were underweight (bMI <5th percentile) compared to non-inflammatory controls (10.7%).
Conclusion: Malays and Indians are three to four times more likely than Chinese to have psoriasis in multi-ethnic Malaysia. Plaque psoriasis is the most common phenotype. Odds of excess adiposity is about two times higher in children with psoriasis compared to non-inflammatory controls although this observation just missed conventional statistical significance.