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A new study suggests inadequate counseling and limited resources are among several barriers to educating patients on psoriasis’s link to cardiometabolic issues.
Inadequate counseling and limited resources are among several barriers to educating patients on psoriasis’s link to cardiometabolic issues, according to an abstract presented at the 2025 AAD Annual Meeting.
“We previously conducted a quality improvement study finding that patients with psoriasis want to learn about their cardiometabolic risk yet often lack effective counseling,” wrote first authors Caitlin Kearney, Michelle Sikora, and colleagues. “As a continuation of this project, we aimed to explore patient preferences and barriers to education on cardiometabolic risk in psoriasis.”
Patients Report Limited Knowledge
Over 6 months, the researchers distributed a 108-item survey to patients receiving care at a psoriasis specialty and phototherapy clinic. Forty-one patients participated in the survey, which used Likert scales ranging from Strongly Disagree (1) to Strongly Agree (5).
Patients were an average age of 48.7 years; 56% were male, and 56% were White.
Nearly half (44%; n=18) said they received some education on psoriasis’s link to cardiovascular disease (CVD). However, the study authors found poor overall performance on knowledge assessments (Table).
Only 29% (n=12) of participants believed the information they received on psoriasis and CVD was easy to understand. In addition, participants often felt their physicians did not give them sufficient educational resources on psoriasis or CVD, with Likert scores averaging 2.4 for each disease.
Participants did not report any significant preferences on which specialists should provide patient education. The participants favored receiving education on psoriasis and CVD from their dermatologists (average Likert score, 4.4) or PCPs (4.2), and information on how to reduce CVD risk from their PCPs (4.4) or cardiologists (3.9).
“Time for appointments, transportation, language, or finances were not perceived as significant barriers to education,” the researchers noted.
The Importance of Collaboration Across Specialties
The authors concluded that clinical resources and educational tools on the link between psoriasis and CVD are still inadequate, and multidisciplinary care between dermatologists, PCPs, and cardiologists can help close gaps.
“These findings highlight important barriers to educating psoriasis patients on cardiometabolic risk, including inadequate counseling and limited resources. Addressing these barriers is critical for improved cardiovascular risk management and patient outcomes,” the researchers said.
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