Smoking raises psoriasis risk

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Psoriasis is a common skin condition that causes skin redness and irritation. Most people with psoriasis have thick, red skin with flaky, silver-white patches called scales.

People who smoked at the start of the study were almost twice as likely to develop psoriasis as people who have never smoked. And even past smokers had a 39% higher risk than non-smokers.

Senior researcher, Dr Abrar A. Qureshi from Harvard Medical School in the United States, said the study clearly showed that smoking came before the psoriasis. Past studies have found links between psoriasis and both obesity and heavy drinking. But after accounting for those factors in this study, the smoking-psoriasis link remained.

Using data from three large, long-running studies of US health professionals – including nearly 186000 men and women followed for 12 to 20 years – researchers found that 2410 developed psoriasis. And the risk was greater among both current smokers and former smokers.

“I think if there’s one message, it’s that for now, smoking seems to be a risk factor for new-onset psoriasis,” Dr Qureshi told Reuters Health.

It is believed that smoking affects immune system activity and inflammation in smokers which could lead to the increased risk for psoriasis.

Source: Reuters Health

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