Psoriasis risk in patients with diabetic retinopathy: A nationwide population-based study

Psoriasis is a chronic cutaneous disease known to be related with systemic disease; however, the association between psoriasis and diabetic complications has not been previously reported. Diabetic microvascular complications include diabetic retinopathy (DR), nephropathy, and neuropathy, and overt diabetic nephropathy can lead to the end-stage renal disease (ESRD). The present study investigated the association between psoriasis and non-proliferative DR (NPDR) or proliferative DR (PDR) or ESRD. We analyzed the relationship between diabetic complication and psoriasis using data from the National Health Insurance Service between 2009 and 2015. During a mean follow-up of 5.18 years, 43,792 patients were newly diagnosed with psoriasis. In Cox proportional hazard models, patients with NPDR (hazard ratio [HR] 1.26) had a higher incidence of psoriasis and patients with PDR patients had a higher risk of psoriasis (HR 1.35). ESRD was defined by the ICD-10 code, including chronic kidney disease/renal failure, transplantation, and dialysis. The incidence of psoriasis increased in DR patients with ESRD (HR 2.99, 95% CI 2.49-3.59, p < 0.001) compared to non-DR patients without ESRD. This is the first association study between psoriasis and diabetic complications including DR and ESRD. DR and its severity were related to the onset of psoriasis. In addition, ESRD was related with an increased psoriasis in DR patients.