A new study, published in JAMA Dermatology, looked at the effect of psoriasis on hypertension control.  There is an established correlation between the prevalence of psoriasis and that of hypertension.  In this new study, researchers hoped to understand how psoriasis affected or impaired the ability to control high blood pressure.

According to Medical News Today, the study found that patients with moderate to severe psoriasis suffered from increased risk for high and uncontrollable blood pressure.  This increased risk was in comparison to those patients without psoriasis of any severity.  Researchers found that this relationship existed even after controlling for age, sex, body mass index, smoking, alcohol use, comorbidities, and current use of antihypertensive medications.  However, their findings were limited in that they were unable to show causation.  It is still unclear whether psoriasis causes high blood pressure, the other way around, or some other set of common factors cause both.

Psoriasis is an inflammatory skin disease that affects between two and four percent of the general population.  In those that suffer from psoriasis, there is a higher risk of a number of conditions, including obesity and metabolic syndrome, in addition to high blood pressure.  The National Psoriasis Foundation explains that there are several varieties of psoriasis.  The most common form is plaque psoriasis, followed by Guttate psoriasis.  Erythrodermic psoriasis is a rare form, occurring during the lifetime of up to three percent of those already suffering from some form of psoriasis.  Erythrodermic psoriasis is the only one that can be life-threatening.