Photo Credit: Aamulya

Psoriatic arthritis (PsA) and atopic dermatitis (AD) can coexist, and the presence of both conditions may mean special attention should be given to selecting optimal treatment, according to a study published in the Journal of Personalized Medicine. The study authors examined AD in patients with PsA and receiving biologics for their active disease in a retrospective analysis of 64 patients with PsA. Participants were followed in an outpatient rheumatology department for up to 10 years. The researchers found that about one-third of the patients had atopic diseases, with a higher incidence of AD versus atopic rhinitis and allergic asthma (10 cases vs 6 and 3 cases, respectively [52.6% versus 31.6 and 15.8%, respectively]). Within AD, three morphological patterns were recognized, including chronic prurigo, a chronic lichen simplex, and eczemas (3, 1, and 6 cases, respectively). Late onset of skin atopy was seen for all patients with PsA and concomitant AD (in adult life), and they exhibited a specific profile, including being younger, being from urban settings, being equally distributed among genders, and requiring switching to a higher number of biologics to achieve disease control.