Seasonal Variation of Psoriasis and Its Impact in the Therapeutic Management: A Retrospective Study on Chinese Patients.

Abstract

BackgroundThe seasonal patterns of psoriasis have been observed in previous studies. However, no published data indicated the risk factors associated with the seasonal variation.PurposeThis study aimed to investigate potentially related factors associated with seasonal pattern of psoriasis and provide possible implications for alleviating psoriasis in clinical practice.Patients and MethodsThe retrospective study was conducted in Chinese patients with psoriasis. Demographic and clinical information were collected. Multivariable logistic regression analyses (calculating adjusted odds ratios [AORs]) were used to analyze data.ResultsWe continually enrolled 2270 patients (1496 males and 774 females) with psoriasis based on inclusion criteria. Disease duration (AOR=1.06, 95% CI: 1.05–1.07), hyperlipidemia (AOR=1.77, 95% CI: 1.06–2.98) and smoking (AOR=1.40, 95% CI: 1.17–1.68) were significantly associated with severe psoriasis in autumn/winter. Age (AOR=0.98, 95% CI:0.97–0.99) and occupations with more sunlight exposure (AOR=0.78, 95% CI: 0.61–0.99) were negatively associated with the seasonal aggravation. Subgroup analysis showed that occupations with more sunlight exposure (AOR=0.64, 95% CI: 0.43–0.94) were protective factors only in late-onset psoriasis but not early-onset, while smoking (AOR=1.39, 95% CI: 1.11–1.74) was risk factor in the early-onset psoriasis.ConclusionPsoriatic patients who had occupation with more sunlight exposure were less likely to report aggravation of psoriasis in autumn/winter. On the contrary, smoking and hyperlipidemia were positively associated with the seasonal aggravation. Additional prospective study is needed to identify the causality.