Hyperuricemia in patients with chronic plaque psoriasis

Background: Few studies have examined the association between elevated serum uric acid (SUA) levels and psoriasis, and their results have been inconclusive because most of these studies did not take into account the confounding effects of coexisting features of the metabolic syndrome. Objective: We compared the prevalence of hyperuricemia and SUA levels between psoriatic patients and control individuals. Methods: Levels of SUA were measured in 119 consecutive psoriatic patients and 119 control individuals matched for age, sex, and body mass index. Results: Compared with control subjects, psoriatic patients had higher SUA levels (5.61 +/- 1.6 vs 4.87 +/- 1.4 mg/dL; P < .001) and a remarkably greater prevalence of asymptomatic hyperuricemia (19% vs 7%; P < .001). Multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that psoriasis was the strongest predictor of hyperuricemia (odds ratio 3.20; 95% confidence interval 1.32-7.58; P < .01) after adjusting for age, sex, and metabolic syndrome features. Limitations: The cross-sectional design of this study does not allow us to draw any conclusion about a causal relation between psoriasis and hyperuricemia. Conclusions: Hyperuricemia is a common finding in psoriatic patients. Its treatment might be clinically useful for the global treatment of patients.