Mortality in generalized pustular psoriasis: a population-based national register study
Ericsson O, Löfvendahl S, Norlin JM, Gyllensvärd H, Schmitt-Egenolf M
Generalized pustular psoriasis (GPP) is a severe form of pustular psoriasis, that can be life-threatening. We have investigated mortality in people with GPP compared to people from the general population and to people with the more common skin disease psoriasis vulgaris (PV).
Using the Swedish National Patient Register (NPR), we identified 1,093 GPP patients which were matched (ratio 1:5) to controls from the general population and (ratio 1:3) to people with PV. All-cause mortality was analysed by Cox regression.
The number of deaths were 315 among people with GPP, 1,027 in the general population and 679 in the PV population. This resulted in mortality hazard ratios (HRs) of 1.81 (95% CI 1.58-2.08) for GPP versus the general population and 1.90 (95% CI 1.63-2.21) for GPP versus people with PV. Age-stratified analysis showed the highest HR for 18–44-year-olds, both compared to the general population (HR 3.49, 95% CI 1.30-9.42) and the PV population (HR 3.50, 95% CI 1.18-10.41).
In conclusion, the results from this study indicate that people with GPP have a significantly higher risk of all-cause mortality compared to the general population and people with psoriasis vulgaris. The highest relative risk was observed for the younger age groups, whilst the absolute death risk was very low in these groups.
Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology, 2023. Online ahead of print
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaad.2023.04.066
