PSS36 THE DESCRIPTIVE EPIDEMIOLOGY AND OUTCOME OF HOSPITALISATIONS FOR PSORIASIS IN THE UNITED KINGDOM

Abstract

OBJECTIVES: To characterise the epidemiology and outcome of people hospitalised with a primary diagnosis of psoriasis has never been characterised previously in the UK. METHODS: Routine hospital data from a large geographical area (population approx. 435,000) were record-linked using probability matching algorithms to mortality data from the Office of National Statistics (1991 to 2005). Relative survival was compared using Cox proportional hazards models. RESULTS: It was possible to identify 1935 hospital admissions from 1038 subjects; 49% male. The mean age at first admission was 44 years (sd 20). The minimum, crude prevalence of people hospitalised with psoriasis at some time was 0.23%. Coincidentally, these admissions represented 0.23% of all hospital admissions. The crude admission rate with a primary diagnosis of psoriasis was 2.9 per 10,000 population per year. The proportion of subjects who had only one admission ranged between 65% and 77%. The median time between the first admission and the second admission was 1.4 years (IQR 0.5 to 3.1). The mean length of hospital stay was 16.8 days (median 15; IQR 8 to 23). There were 55 deaths in total in this group. Ten year survival was between 94% and 95%. Following standardisation, people admitted more than once had increased risk of all cause mortality (hazard ratio 2.71; 95% CI 1.39 to 5.31). CONCLUSIONS: This study provides useful background intelligence on the most severe psoriasis patients. The proportion of psoriasis patients admitted was estimated to be about one in six people. Those with more than one admission with psoriasis—greater psoriasis severity—were associated with increased risk of all-cause mortality.