Age and gender differences in Framingham risk score and metabolic syndrome in psoriasis patients: A cross-sectional study in the Turkish population

OBJECTIVE Psoriasis is associated with an increased frequency of cardiovascular risk factors. Metabolic syndrome (MS) and the Framingham risk score (FRS) are two different algorithms for evaluating cardiovascular risk. They include different features: waist circumference measurement is included in the MS criteria, whereas smoking, age, and gender are questioned in FRS. This study aimed to evaluate the frequency of MS and FRS in psoriasis patients compared with a control group and investigate the differences between MS and FRS. METHODS This was a cross-sectional study involving 300 psoriasis patients and 177 controls. MS, FRS, and disease severity were evaluated. RESULTS The frequency of MS was higher in females with psoriasis than in those in the control group (p=0.019). Females in the psoriasis group were more obese than those in the control group (p=0.036). FRS significantly differed between the patients and controls of age >60 years (p=0.006). The risk of hypertension in current and past smokers was higher in the psoriasis patients (OR=2.07 and 2.32-2.48, respectively) than in the control group. There was no statistically significant relationship among MS, FRS, and psoriasis severity (p>0.05). CONCLUSION The results of this study support the evaluation of cardiovascular risk assessment in female psoriasis patients with MS and in male and elderly psoriasis patients with FRS.