Patients with Psoriasis Have a Higher Prevalence of Parental Cardiovascular Disease

Background: Parental history of cardiovascular disease (CVD) is an independent risk factor for offspring CVD. Patients with chronic plaque psoriasis have an intermediate risk of developing CVD. Objective: To investigate the prevalence of parental history of CVD in patients with psoriasis. Method: A cross-sectional study on 236 adult patients with chronic plaque psoriasis and 246 controls was performed. Parental history of myocardial infarction and/or stroke was investigated by using a structured questionnaire. The accuracy of the self-reported information was confirmed by the hospital registry. Results: A positive parental history of maternal myocardial infarction was observed in 28/236 cases compared to 16/246 controls (11.8 vs. 6.5%; p = 0.04). A positive parental history of premature maternal myocardial infarction (i.e. <65 years) was observed in 16/236 cases compared to 3/246 controls (6.8 vs. 1.2%; p = 0.01). Moreover, a positive parental history of paternal stroke was observed in 25/236 cases compared to 14/246 controls (10.5 vs. 5.6%; p = 0.04). A positive parental history of psoriasis was higher in cases than in controls (35 vs. 2%; p < 0.001). Conclusions: Parental history of CVD could also be investigated in patients with psoriasis for a more comprehensive estimation of their cardiovascular risk. Copyright (C) 2011 S. Karger AG, Basel