WEDNESDAY, Sept. 20, 2023 (HealthDay News) -- Coronary microvascular dysfunction (CMD) occurs in 31.5 percent of patients with psoriasis, with disease severity and duration associated with increased risk, according to a study published in the October issue of the Journal of Investigative Dermatology.

Stefano Piaserico, M.D., Ph.D., from the University of Padova in Italy, and colleagues examined the prevalence and predictors of CMD in a cohort of 448 patients with psoriasis without clinical cardiovascular disease. The participants underwent assessment of coronary microcirculation by transthoracic Doppler echocardiography.

The researchers found that 31.5 percent of the patients had CMD. Independent associations with CMD were seen for higher Psoriasis Area and Severity Index (PASI), longer disease duration, presence of psoriatic arthritis, and hypertension. The risk for CMD was increased 5.8 and 4.6 percent in association with an increase of 1 point of PASI and one year of psoriasis duration, respectively.

"Our findings extend the observations of earlier small studies by showing a high prevalence of coronary microvascular dysfunction in asymptomatic patients with severe psoriasis and by showing that the excess microvascular dysfunction is independently associated with the severity and duration of psoriasis," the authors write.

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