Do men suffer from more severe psoriasis than women?

 

A recent Swedish study of 5,438 patients with moderate to severe psoriasis found that "women had statistically significantly lower median PASI scores (5.4) than men (7.3), consistent across all ages.

 

The authors concluded:

"For more than 70 years it has been speculated that women have less severe psoriasis compared with men. By investigating, for the first time, the sex differences in the severity of psoriasis using the gold standard of severity measurement—the PASI score—and the distinct elements of the PASI score, we were able to corroborate this thesis in a nationwide population. Further research is needed to substantiate this finding in different populations."

 

Hägg, D., Sundström, A., Eriksson, M. et al. Am J Clin Dermatol (2017). doi:10.1007/s40257-017-0274-0