The Clinical Profile of Patients with Psoriasis in Korea: A Nationwide Cross-Sectional Study (EPI-PSODE).

Background: Psoriasis is an immune-mediated, chronic inflammatory disease affecting multiple aspects of patients' lives. Its epidemiology varies regionally; however, nationwide epidemiologic data on psoriasis depicting profile of Korean patients has not been available to date.
Objective: To understand nationwide epidemiologic characteristics and clinical features of adult patients with psoriasis visited university hospitals in Korea.
Methods: This multicenter, non-interventional, cross-sectional study recruited 1,278 adult patients with psoriasis across 25 centers in Korea in 2013. Various clinical data including PASI, BSA, DLQI, SF-36 and PASE were collected.
Results: A total of 1,260 patients completed the study (male:female=1.47:1). The mean age was 47.0 years with a distribution mostly in the 50s (24.9%). Early onset (<40 years) of psoriasis accounted for 53.9% of patients. The mean disease duration was 109.2 months; mean body mass index was 23.9 kg/m ² ; and 12.7% of patients had a family history of psoriasis. Plaque and guttate types of psoriasis accounted for 85.8% and 8.4%, respectively. Patients with PASI ≥10 accounted for 24.9%; patients with body surface area ≥10 were 45.9%. Patients with DLQI ≥6 accounted for 78.8%. Between PASI <10 and PASI ≥10 groups, significant difference was noted in age at diagnosis, disease duration, blood pressure, waist circumference of female, and treatment experiences with phototherapy, systemic agents, and biologics.
Conclusion: This was the first nationwide epidemiologic study of patients with psoriasis in Korea and provides an overview of the epidemiologic characteristics and clinical profiles of this patient population.
Competing Interests: CONFLICTS OF INTEREST: Dr. Hae Jun Song has participated as an advisory board member and has conducted clinical trials for Janssen and has received speaking fees or research support from Janssen. Dr. Chul Jong Park, Dr. Tae Yoon Kim, Dr. Yong Beom Choe, Dr. Seok-Jong Lee, Dr. Nack In Kim, Dr. Jae We Cho, Dr. Jie Hyun Jeon, Dr. Min Soo Jang have no conflict of interest to declare. Dr. Jai Il Youn has conducted clinical trial for Pfizer, Janssen, Lilly, Leo. Dr. Myung Hwa Kim, Dr. Joonsoo Park, Dr. Ki Ho Kim, Dr. Byung Soo Kim have no conflict of interest to declare. Dr. Sang Woong Youn has served as an advisor, received speaker honoraria, and participated in clinical trials for Janssen. Dr. Joo-Heung Lee has no conflict of interest to declare. Dr. Min-Geol Lee has conducted clinical trials for Pfizer, Novartis, Eli Lilly, and Janssen and has received speaking fees from Janssen. Dr. Sung Ku Ahn, Dr. Young Ho Won, Dr. Seok Kweon Yun, Dr. Bong Seok Shin have no conflict of interest to declare. Dr. Seong Jun Seo has conducted clinical trials for Amore, Regeneron, Novartis, Roche. Dr. Ji Yeoun Lee, Dr. Kwang Joong Kim have no conflict of interest to declare. Dr. Young Suck Ro has conducted post-marketing surveillance for Janssen. Mr. Dae Young Yu and Mr. Youngdoe Kim are employee of Janssen Korea. Dr. Jee-Ho Choi has conducted clinical trials for Janssen.