Psoriasis in the elderly: From the Medical Board of the National Psoriasis Foundation

Abstract

The continuous increase in the US population older than 65 years and the chronic course of psoriasis make management of psoriasis in the elderly an important health care problem. We sought to develop a treatment algorithm for patients with psoriasis who are older than 65 years. A systematic literature search for studies on elderly patients with psoriasis was performed using MEDLINE. We summarize the available published data on therapeutic modalities used in the elderly. We suggest a treatment algorithm including topical medications as first-line treatment for limited disease, with phototherapy, systemic retinoids, methotrexate, and biologics as the first-line systemic treatments for patients with more extensive disease. Cyclosporine should only rarely be used as a second-line systemic treatment for extensive disease in elderly patients with psoriasis. Limited data are available regarding treatment modalities specifically for elderly patients with psoriasis. Appropriate treatment for elderly patients with limited psoriasis includes topical corticosteroids, topical vitamin D analogues, and topical tazarotene. For appropriately monitored elderly patients who have psoriasis with extensive disease, phototherapy, acitretin, methotrexate, alefacept, etanercept, adalimumab, infliximab, and ustekinumab are first-line therapies that can generally be safely used. There remains a need for further research on the management of psoriasis in elderly patients with psoriasis.